#step by step windows 10 install | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik (2025)

*Kicks door open* GUESS WHO HAS A WINDOWS XP LAPTOP NOW???

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How to Install OpenSSL on Windows Computers

In this article, we shall discuss how to Install OpenSSL on Windows Computers. OpenSSL is an open-source command-line tool that is used to generate the SSL certificate and private key and is available in both versions 32 and 64 bit. Please see How to fix Windows Update Fails with Error 0x80092004, how to Fix the Port used for the Virtualhost is not an Apache Listen Port, and Shell Scripting: How…

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Joomla 4 installation on Localhost

This is Joomla 4 Installation and setup on Windows 10. You will learn how you can install Joomla Latest version 4.0.2 in localhost XAMPP. To install Joomla 4 you need PHP version 7.4+ and MySQL version 5.6+ if you have any issue with the installation or any other please comment, and I will try to help you.

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Delete All Temporary Files||Computer Ki Speed Kaise BadhayeWindows 7,8,10||OneClick||By SachinSharma

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My GIF Making process: Screen capturing using MPV player, Organizing files, 3 Sharpening settings, Basic Coloring PSD + Actions set

This is a very long post so heads up.

I’ll try to be as thorough and true as much as possible to the way I make my gifs (I already use Photoshop Actions which I’ve long since set up but now for this tutorial I’m reviewing them to show you the exact steps I’ve learned to create my gifs 😃) and present them to you in a semi-coherent way. Also, please bear with me since English is my second language.

First things first. Below are the things and tools we need to do this:

Downloaded 4K or 1080p quality videos (let’s all assume we know where to get these—especially for high definition movies and tv series—so this post doesn’t get removed, okay? 😛)

Adobe Photoshop CC or the CS versions can work as well, but full disclosure I haven’t created gifs using the CS versions since 2020. I’m currently using Adobe Photoshop 2024.

mpv player. Use mpv player to get those frames/screenshots or any other video player that has a screen grabber feature. I’ve used adapter for the longest time but I’ve switched to mpv because the press to screenshot feature while the video is playing has been a game changer not to mention ultimate time saver for me. For adapter you need to play it in another video player (like VLC player), to get the start and end timestamps of the scene you want to gif which takes me ages before I can even open Photoshop.

Anyway! Please stop reading this post for a moment and head over to this amazing tutorial by kylos. She perfectly tells you how to install and use mpv player, both for Mac and Windows users.

One thing I have to share though, I had a tough time when I updated my MacOS to Sonoma since MPV is suddenly either duplicating frames or when I delete the duplicates the player seems to be skipping frames :/ I searched and found a solution here, though it didn’t work for me lol. My workaround for this in the meantime is decreasing the speed down to 0.70 then start screenshotting—it’s not the same pre Sonoma update but it works so I’ll have to accept it rather than have jumpy looking gifs.

Now, after this part of kylos’ tutorial:

you can continue reading the following sections of my gif tutorial below.

I want to share this little tip (sorry, this will only cater to Mac users) that I hope will be helpful for organizing the screenshots that MPV saved to the folder you have selected. Because believe me you don’t want to go through 1k+ of screenshots to select just 42-50 frames for your gif.

The Control + Command + N shortcut

This shortcut allows you to create a new folder from files you have pre-selected. As you can see below I have already created a couple of folders, and inside each folder I have selected screenshots that I want to include in one single gif. It's up to you how you want to divide yours, assuming you intend to create and post a Tumblr gifset rather than just one gif.

Another tip is making use of tags. Most of, if not all the time, I make supercorp gifs so I tag blue for Kara and red (or green) for Lena—just being ridiculously on brand and all that.

Before we finally open Photoshop, there's one more thing I want to say—I know, please bear with me for the third? fourth? time 😅

It's helpful to organize everything into their respective folders so you know the total number of items/frames you have. This way, you can add or delete excess or unnecessary shots before uploading them in Photoshop.

For example below there are 80 screenshots of Kara inside this folder and for a 1:1 (540 x 540 px) Tumblr gif, Photoshop can just work around with 42-50 max number of frames with color adjustments applied before it exceeds the 10 MB file size limit of Tumblr.

Sometimes I skip this step because it can be exhausting (haha) and include everything so I can decide visually which frames to keep later on. You'll understand what I mean later on. But it's important to keep the Tumblr 10 MB file size limit in mind. Fewer frames, or just the right amount of frames, is better.

So, with the screenshot organization out of the way, let's finally head over to Photoshop.

Giffing in Photoshop, yay!

Let’s begin by navigating to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack…

The Load Layers window will appear. Click the Browse button next.

Find your chosen screenshots folder, press Command + A to select all files from that folder then click Open. Then click OK.

After importing and stacking your files, Photoshop should display the following view:

By the way, I'll be providing the clip I've used in this tutorial so if want to use them to follow along be my guest :)

If you haven't already opened your Timeline panel, navigate to Windows > Timeline.

Now, let's focus on the Timeline panel for the next couple of steps.

Click Create Video Timeline, then you’ll have this:

Now click the menu icon on the top right corner then go to Convert Frames > Make Frames from Clips

Still working on the Timeline panel, click the bottom left icon this time—the icon with the three tiny boxes—to Convert to Frame Animation

Select Make Frames From Layers from the top right corner menu button.

So now you have this:

Go and click the top right menu icon again to Select All Frames

Then click the small dropdown icon to set another value for Frame Delay. Select Other…

The best for me and for most is 0.05 but you can always play around and see what you think works for you.

Click the top right menu icon again to Reverse Frames.

I think Photoshop has long since fixed this issue but usually the first animation frame is empty so I just delete it but now going through all these steps there seems to be none of that but anyways, the delete icon is the last one among the line of feature buttons at the bottom part of the Timeline panel.

Yay, now we can have our first proper GIF preview of a thirsty Lena 😜

Press spacebar to watch your gif play for the very first time! After an hour and half of selecting and cutting off screenshots! 😛 Play it some more. No really, I’m serious. I do this so even as early (lol) as this part in the gif making process, I can see which frames I can/should delete to be within the 10 MB file size limit. You can also do it at the end of course 🙂

Now, let’s go to the next important steps of this tutorial post which I’ve numbered below.

Crop and resize to meet Tumblr's required dimensions. The width value should be either 540px, 268px, or 177px.

Convert the gif to a Smart Object for sharpening.

Apply lighting and basic color adjustments before the heavy coloring. I will be sharing the base adjustments layers I use for my gifs 😃.

1. Crop and Resize

Click on the Crop tool (shortcut: the C key)

I like my GIFs big so I always set this to 1:1 ratio if the scene allows it. Press the Enter key after selecting the area of the frame that you want to keep.

Side note: If you find that after cropping, you want to adjust the image to the left or another direction, simply unselect the Delete Cropped Pixels option. This way, you will still have the whole frame area available to crop again as needed and as you prefer.

Now we need to resize our gif and the shortcut for that is Command + Opt + I. Type in 540 as the width measurement, then the height will automatically change to follow the ratio you’ve set while cropping.

540 x 540 px for 1:1

540 x 405 px for 4:3

540 x 304 px for 16:9

For the Resample value I prefer Bilinear—but you can always select the other options to see what you like best.

Click OK. Then Command + 0 and Command + - to properly view the those 540 pixels.

Now we get to the exciting part :) the sharpen settings!

2. Sharpen

First we need to have all these layers “compressed” intro a single smart object from which we can apply filters to.

Select this little button on the the bottom left corner of the Timeline panel.

Select > All Layers

Then go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters

Just click OK when a pop-up shows up.

Now you should have this view on the Layers panel:

Now I have 3 sharpen settings to share but I’ll have download links to the Action packs at the end of this long ass tutorial so if you want to skip ahead, feel free to do so.

Sharpen v1

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen…

Below are my settings. I don’t adjust anything under Shadows/Highlights.

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Click OK then do another Smart Sharpen but this time with the below adjustments.

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

As you can see Lena’s beautiful eyes are “popping out” now with these filters applied. Click OK.

Now we need to Convert to Frame Animation. Follow the steps below.

Click on the menu icon at the top right corner of the Timeline panel, then click Convert Frames > Flatten Frames into Clips

Then Convert Frames > Convert to Frame Animation

One more click to Make Frames From Layers

Delete the first frame then Select All then Set Frame Delay to 0.05

and there you have it! Play your GIF and make sure it’s just around 42-50 frames. This is the time to select and delete.

To preview and save your GIF go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…

Below are my Export settings. Make sure to have the file size around 9.2 MB to 9.4 MB max and not exactly 10 MB.

This time I got away with 55 frames but this is because I haven’t applied lighting and color adjustments yet and not to mention the smart sharpen settings aren't to heavy so let’s take that into consideration.

Sharpen v1 preview:

Sharpen v2

Go back to this part of the tutorial and apply the v2 settings.

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 20

Radius: 0.5

We’re adding a new type of Filter which is Reduce Noise (Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise...) with the below settings.

Then one last Smart Sharpen:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Your Layers panel should look like this:

Then do the Convert to Frames Animation section again and see below preview.

Sharpen v2 preview:

Sharpen v3:

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

Reduce Noise:

Strength: 5

Preserve Details: 50%

Reduce Color Noise: 0%

Sharpen Details: 50%

Sharpen v3 preview:

And here they are next to each other with coloring applied:

v1

v2

v3

Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the post 😂

As promised, here is the download link to all the files I used in this tutorial which include:

supercorp 2.05 Crossfire clip

3 PSD files with sharpen settings and basic coloring PSD

Actions set

As always, if you're feeling generous here's my Ko-fi link :) Thank you guys and I hope this tutorial will help you and make you love gif making.

P.S. In the next post I'll be sharing more references I found helpful especially with coloring. I just have to search and gather them all.

-Jill

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How to use DXVK with The Sims 3

Have you seenthis post about using DXVKby Criisolate? But felt intimidated by the sheer mass of facts and information?

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

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

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

Happy simming!

Disclaimer and Credits

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

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

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

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

Compatibility

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

Reshade

GShade

Nvidia Experience/Nvidia Inspector/Nvidia Shaders

RivaTuner Statistics Server

It does work seamlessly with LazyDuchess’ Smooth Patch.

LazyDuchess’ Launcher: unknown

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

A word on FPS and V-Sync

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

You need

a text editor (easiest to use is Windows Notepad)

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

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

administrator rights on your PC

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

a tiny bit of patience :)

First Step: Backup

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

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

Preparations

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

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

Open the Windows Control Panel.

Click System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings.

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

Click the Data Execution Prevention tab.

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

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

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

Setting up the DXVK.conf file

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

d3d9.textureMemory = 1

d3d9.presentInterval = 1

d3d9.maxFrameRate = 60

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

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

A. no Reshade/GShade

Setting up DXVK

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

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

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

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

Things to note

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

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

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

Update Options.ini

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

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

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

Save and close the file.

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

Things to note:

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

How do I know it’s working?

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

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

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

Optional: changing MemCacheBudgetValue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Uninstallation

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

d3d9.dll

DXVK.conf

TS3W.DXVK-cache

And if you have it, also TS3W_d3d9.log

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

OR

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

B. with Reshade/GShade

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

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

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

Please note:

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

ReShade interface

Choose – Vulcan

Click next and choose your preferred shaders.

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

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

GShade interface

Choose –

Executable Architecture: 32bit

Graphics API: DXVK

Hooking: Normal Mode

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

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

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

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

d3d10core.dll

d3d11.dll

dxgi.dll

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Max and 10 please <3

10) spooning at night

Despite the soundproofing you’d installed during Covid, you can still hear Max’s pedals going thunk against the walls of the apartment. The sound accompanied by faint chattering, occasional laughter, cries of outrage as he talks to his friends on stream.

He worries sometimes. But you’d tell him if it bothered you— besides, you like hearing sounds of life in the apartment. You’ve not quite adjusted to the sheer square footage of Max’s penthouse apartment yet, even though you’ve lived with him for years. You grew too used to New York apartments where your bedroom, kitchen, and dining room were always piled on top of each other. It’s strange to have so much space, more rooms than you know what to do with.

Anyway, no, the noise doesn’t bother you. You like to hear him enjoying himself, laughing with his friends, doing something that doesn’t have so much pressure attached to it. You don’t like to take him away from that prematurely, even if you’re missing him.

And you are missing him.

It’s the middle of the night. Maybe past midnight now. You’ve got the windows in your bedroom open, letting in the Monaco sea breeze in a futile attempt to cut through the sweltering heat. The overhead fan whirrs above you. Some mindless show you love drones quietly on the TV, casting you in ever changing colours as you twist and turn in the sheets. Trying to keep your mind off things you shouldn’t be worrying about.

You wait a while, watch an episode.

Then you give in to your selfish tendencies and pull up your Discord chat with Max on your phone, sending off a simple message— come to bed?

You put your phone back on the nightstand and try not to smile too wide when you hear the sim rig thunk and thud as Max climbs out of it a few minutes later. His footsteps on the hardwood floors as he stops by the kitchen and then makes his way to the bedroom.

The door creaks open. Max comes inside, stepping quietly as if you’re already asleep.

“Sorry, liefje,” he says softly, before he ducks into the closet to change, “I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

You shake your head even though he can’t see, “You didn’t. I just couldn’t sleep.”

“You should have told me,” he sighs, coming out of the walk in closet wearing the oversized cat shirt you’d bought him and worn sweat-shorts with holes in the waistband, “I don’t mind cutting the stream short, not for you. They will survive without me.”

You hum and nod placatingly, knowing you wouldn’t ever ask him to do that. At least not for something like this. You’d only sent that message tonight because you knew he’d already been on for hours and would be wrapping up soon anyway.

“Got it,” you say, opening your arms and beckoning him to get into bed already.

He sighs again, an exasperated little exhale through his nose, and then climbs under the single sheet you’ve got draped over you. He shuffles into your space, pressing a wet kiss to the side of your chin as you press a kiss into his forehead and adjust your arms around him.

“Where are the cats?”, you ask, while Max busies himself with turning around.

You feel Max shrug. He’s adjusting the sheet so it sits over him perfectly and then fluffing his pillows so his head sits comfortably. You reach out to scratch the back of his neck, with three fingers, the same way you scratch the cats out of habit.

“Jimmy’s sleeping in the spare room,” he says, reaching blindly behind him to catch your shirt and drag you closer, “Dunno where Sassy is.”

“Causing trouble,” you laugh, slotting into place at his back.

You nudge your nose into his shoulder and sling your arm over his waist. Curling it around to press into his stomach. Your legs end up tangled, one of yours bent and hiked on his hip. Later, he’ll nudge it off because it twists the material of his shorts, but he tolerates it until you’re asleep.

“Mm,” he agrees, finding your hand splayed flat on his tummy and intertwining it with his own, “Always.”

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The Devil at Your Window |10: Blood & Honesty|

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader Word count: 4.3k [Series Masterlist]

Warnings/Tags: 18+; fluff, flirting, sexual tension, light angst, pining, eventual smut, identity reveal, and lots of black suit Matty

a/n: So...I've been gone for a bit, but now I'm back after that unexpected hiatus. This is the installment that I have been wanting to scream about because of where things are about to eventually go.... Feedback and reblogs are always appreciated!

Tag list: @danzer8705 @darkened-writer @keepingitlokiii @kezibear @dorothleah @sarahskywalker-amidala @1988-fiend @haruari @millennial-birkin @marveious @sunflower-tia @fizanotfeeza @cloudroomblog @babygirlmurdock @writtenbyred @idontevenknow1359 @scriptedmoon @sarraa-26 @barnes21cz @loves0phelia @3sriracha @kmc1989 @midnightramble @marissamejia19 @ardent-crow @ujws5 @livvyliv15 @sweety18 @energerstar @steve-chandler @librarygremin @wanda-maxamommy

It was a surprisingly warm night tonight. Spring had finally drawn nearer to Hell's Kitchen with the way the evening chill had begun to lack its usual bite. As Matt limped his way across the rooftop, sweat dampened the fabric of the mask as it clung to his forehead. His shirt was torn and his torso bleeding after the knife-wielding criminal he'd just fought now sat handcuffed in the back of a police car. He was tired and ready to end the evening, but somehow his feet had taken him to your building. It was a place he’d been avoiding ever since what had happened the last time he’d tried to stop by your apartment just about a week ago.

He wasn’t entirely sure why he’d ended up on your rooftop again tonight, or what had even compelled him to carefully lower himself down the side of the building towards your fire escape. Though he’d been hesitant to throw his senses into your apartment tonight, nervous of a repeat situation. But you were in fact asleep this time. He could hear your even breaths and your steady heartbeat coming from your bedroom as confirmation.

With a faint sigh of relief, Matt focused on your fire escape next. Easily enough, he caught the usual scent of food that meant you were still loyally keeping the Devil’s Pantry just outside your window for him even though he hadn't taken anything out of it in two weeks. A tinge of guilt hit him at that realization. He’d been avoiding your place, but you’d still been thinking about him. Despite his absence, you'd still been worried about him staying fed and hydrated.

Crossing the two small steps towards the bin, Matt crouched down and removed the lid with a wince, the cuts on his torso stinging at the movement. If he was here, he figured he should probably leave some sign of it. Some sign acknowledging that he still appreciated you leaving this out for him–like actually taking something out of it.

Reaching a hand inside the container, Matt grabbed a bottle of water. He pulled it out and twisted off the lid before drinking half the bottle down in a matter of a few deep gulps. Feeling a little more refreshed, he found himself grateful that you were still this thoughtful despite the silence on his end of this unusual friendship. Though Matt had convinced himself that you most likely didn't mind that he had stopped barging in on you all of the time. You were seeing that guy now. You had other things going on to occupy your thoughts and your time. The Devil’s Pantry only remained on your fire escape because you appreciated what the Devil did for the Kitchen. That was the only reason.

Setting the partially drunk water bottle down beside his feet, Matt reached a hand back into the container. He’d been going to grab a protein bar, but his gloved hand hit something flimsy, the sound of paper rustling meeting his ears. He froze, a frown settling on his lips. Had you left him a note again?

Withdrawing his hand from the bin, he worked on removing his glove before setting it on the fire escape beside his feet. With his other hand, he reached back inside the bin to pull the slip of paper out. His ungloved fingers ran over the top of your note and the unmistakable indentations of a pen met his fingertips. You had in fact left him a note, but one so short that he didn’t need to repeatedly trace his fingers over it to make sense of it this time.

I miss you, Devil.

The frown deepened on Matt’s mouth, his lips twisting in confusion. What had you meant by that? Did you really miss his unannounced visits? Didn't you have that guy to occupy your time with now? Weren't you appreciative that he was leaving you alone and giving you your privacy?

Maybe you missed the jokes between you both–Matt certainly did. You were always so funny. And he hated to admit it, but if there really was some sort of friendship that had formed between the pair of you, communication was required to maintain it. Which meant checking in with each other. Talking. But how was he supposed to stand in your apartment and hold a conversation with you after how he'd eavesdropped–despite his best attempts not to–on such a personal moment of yours that he'd then shamefully taken far too much pleasure in the last time he’d stopped by?

His fingers ran over the little note again, his focus on the soft lines and gentle curves of your handwriting. As he read it once more, the steady sound of your heartbeat in his ears, he heard the words as if you’d spoken them in his ear.

I miss you, Devil.

His attention shifting from the note in his hand, he focused on your bedroom window next to the fire escape. A frown tugged at his lips as he continued to listen to your even breaths.

“I miss you, too, angel,” he whispered.

Partially distracted, you tried to focus on putting away the load of clean dishes that had recently finished washing in your dishwasher. For the entirety of the night all you’d been able to think about was the new mistake you'd managed to make earlier at work. While truthfully it hadn't been that big of a deal, your least favorite co-worker had made sure to take every opportunity to torment you about it today. And that had only made things worse.

Simply put, today had been a bad day for you. It also didn't help that it had been over two weeks since you'd last seen the Devil. And you knew he'd finally stopped by your apartment three nights ago to grab some water and snacks out of your Devil’s Pantry because a few items had finally been removed after the past couple of weeks of it remaining untouched. So you knew he'd read the note you'd left for him. But you still hadn't seen him since, and at this point you were convinced that he really was done with you.

So you'd come home miserable tonight and had immediately gone into a stress-induced cleaning frenzy. You'd folded the laundry that had once more piled up in your bedroom after throwing another load into the wash in the building's laundry facility downstairs. You'd not only scrubbed your bathroom sparkling clean, but you'd even dusted and swept the whole apartment. Afterwards, still trying hard not to think about your disappointment at never seeing the Devil again, you'd methodically organized the clothes in your closet by color. You'd only paused long enough to throw together the saddest salad, too morose to actually cook tonight, before moving on to emptying your dishwasher.

You wondered if your note had been the final nail in the coffin for the Devil and your friendship. Because he had eventually come back just once after you'd made the mistake of toying with his jealousy. That had to mean something, right? But then why had admitting you missed him made him disappear again? You figured he'd want to know you'd been thinking about him if he was jealous.

Maybe you should have written him a longer note. A note that told him you'd ended things with Dylan a long time ago. That you sat in wait for him pathetically every night just for a glimpse of him outside your window. That you couldn't stop thinking about him. That you wanted him.

But you'd once again lost the opportunity to tell him how you felt. And now you'd never have the chance.

With a heavy heart, you set the two glasses you were holding up on the cabinet shelf. Turning back towards your half-empty dishwasher, you headed back over and bent down to pull out one of your larger knives from the top rack. But as you stood back up, a voice to your left startled you so much that you jumped on the spot.

“You still kept it unlocked.”

Head darting over your shoulder, your eyes widened in shock when you saw the Devil standing just beyond your kitchen in his black, form fitting suit. Mouth falling open in surprise, you couldn't believe he'd actually come back. You'd been positive he was gone from your life forever.

“You–you’re here,” you stammered a little breathlessly. “I–ah!”

A sharp stinging burned its way up your arm just as the Devil’s head tilted to the side. Before you could even register another thought beyond pain, his lips had set into a firm line as he darted across the room straight towards you. You’d caught the soft, panicked curse he'd muttered under his breath as he hurried to your side.

Glancing down at where the pain was focused on your arm, you gasped at the sight. Blood was seeping out of a cut along the top of your forearm. Judging from the red on the edge of the knife in your other hand, you must've accidentally cut yourself when you'd startled and then been too shocked at the sight of the black-clad Devil to immediately realize you'd even been hurt.

Black gloved hands were on you immediately. One of the Devil’s hands gently grasped your injured arm while the other carefully retrieved the knife from your other hand. He was silent as he set the knife down on the counter behind himself before he returned his attention to your injury. Delicately twisting your wrist back and forth in his hold, his masked face focused on your cut as he examined it.

“You're lucky,” his gravelly voice said. “Doesn't sound like a deep cut.”

Face screwing up at the comment, your eyes darted up to his masked one. Curiously you watched him through narrowed eyes as he stood there still tenderly grasping your arm in his hand and examining the damage you’d accidentally done with your knife. What did he mean by it not sounding like a deep cut? Didn’t he mean that it didn’t look like a deep cut? Had he just misspoken? As much as you’d been tempted to ask for clarification, after going weeks without seeing him you weren’t feeling inclined to take the risk of asking and touching on something personal that would send him running away from you again.

“I should clean this,” he murmured, still focused on your arm. “Don’t need you getting an infection. You’ll certainly need a bandage, but it doesn’t seem deep enough to need stitches.”

His face finally rose, his eyes behind the mask seeming to fix on you now. You could feel your heart pounding a little harder beneath his mysterious covered gaze; it had been so long since you’d last felt the weight of it on you.

“Where’s your first aid kit?” he asked.

Blinking rapidly, you tried to focus on the answer to his question and not the fact that he was here and that you’d also just accidentally sliced yourself with a knife. It didn’t help that his gloved hand was still so carefully holding your wrist.

“It’s–it’s in the bathroom,” you answered, voice still coming out a little breathless. “Under the vanity.”

His head cocked curiously to the side. “There a towel I can use to clean this in there, too?” he asked next.

You nodded, still partially in a daze. “Mhmm,” you hummed back.

He released your hand, his head gesturing behind himself to your couch. “Sit,” he ordered. “I'll be right back.”

The Devil turned, striding his way across your apartment and towards the bathroom with an urgency in his steps. He moved without making much sound as you stared after his retreating form. You genuinely wondered how he did that. He really was just like a cat.

Still in shock that he was even here, you maneuvered around the kitchen counter and headed over towards your couch. As you settled down onto the cushions, you glanced over at the short hallway he’d disappeared down and held your bleeding arm upright. Curiously you noted he hadn't even bothered turning on the bathroom light in his haste so that he could see what he was doing. But by the time you’d had that thought, he was already making his way back out of your bathroom, clearly having found what he wanted as he brought the items over.

The Devil sat on the couch beside you before reaching over towards your coffee table to set down the first aid kit and the damp towel. In silence you watched as he began peeling his gloves off of his hands one at a time, the innocent gesture somehow seeming to cause your blood to heat. You swore you could feel his own body heat radiating off of him from where he sat so close beside you removing each glove, your eyes focused on the deft movements of his fingers.

It didn’t help that you were far too aware of how close his large thigh was to your leg right now. You couldn’t resist glancing down at it, staring at how easily it filled out the black pants he wore. Curiously you wondered if you’d even be able to fit both of your hands around the circumference of his thigh with how thick and muscular it was. Swallowing thickly, you felt your body warm a bit further, your mind going to places it shouldn’t have been going right now. Like sitting on his lap.

Your attention had been so focused on his leg in his tight pants that when he turned back towards you, you visibly startled on the couch. The Devil paused with the damp towel in his hand as he stared back at you, clearly having caught the way you’d jumped. The corner of his lip twitched, almost as if he’d wanted to smile, but then his expression quickly returned serious.

“Give me your arm,” he ordered.

Gnawing on your bottom lip, you awkwardly held it out towards his awaiting hand. Gingerly his fingers wrapped around your wrist, drawing it further towards himself as his masked face once more focused on your cut. His other hand began lightly washing the blood that had coated your forearm with the towel, goosebumps beginning to dot your skin under his attention.

The Devil had never quite touched you like this before when he’d visited you in the past. The hold he had on your wrist was delicate despite the roughness of his fingers. There was also care in the way he was methodically cleaning your small wound, almost as if he’d done this before on someone besides himself. You found yourself wondering about that for a minute, curious as to who it would’ve been that this man had often tended to like this.

“Keep this right here,” he told you. “I’m not done yet.”

With the blood cleaned from your arm, the Devil momentarily released it from his hold before he leaned over towards your coffee table, setting down the damp rag. Opening your first aid kit, his hands reached inside and his fingers fumbled around, shuffling items out of his way as he searched for what he wanted. Eventually you saw him grab a cotton ball and that tube of Neosporin you’d used on the injury for his ass a few weeks ago. The sight of it immediately reminded you of that night and how you’d messed up, and the sudden urge to rectify that situation before he disappeared on you again hit you hard as you watched him smear the ointment on a cotton ball.

You cleared your throat as he once more grabbed your wrist with his hand, his other one gently dabbing the ointment over your cut. Wincing slightly as he worked, you tried to find a way to begin the discussion you wanted to have. With how quiet the Devil currently was this evening, it didn't seem like he’d be sticking around for conversation much longer after he finished bandaging your arm.

“So uh–”

“I’m sorry for this,” he murmured, cutting you off.

Brows drawing together at his unexpected apology, you watched him in confusion as he reached over and set the cotton ball down on your coffee table. Briefly he released your wrist again, his hands searching for the correct size bandage in your kit.

“What do you mean?” you asked him. “It’s not like you stabbed me. Pretty sure I was the one holding the knife, Devil.”

“I shouldn’t have just barged in,” he replied, picking up the bandage he wanted and beginning to open the package. “I scared you. Should’ve known you were holding a knife.”

Your head tilted curiously to the side, your brows still knitted together. One of these days you were determined to figure out what he meant by all these odd things he said. Assuming, of course, he kept coming back long enough.

“It was an accident,” you reminded him. “You don’t have to apologize for an accident.”

He emitted a single grunt in response as his warm fingers once more encircled your wrist. His other hand very carefully laid out the bandage over your forearm before his fingertips gently smoothed it down over your skin. Eyelids fluttering beneath the tender, light touch, you once more felt your pulse accelerate. But when he spoke again, you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach.

“There,” he said, placing your arm back into your lap. “I’d keep it from getting wet in the shower for a day, but otherwise you should be alright.”

“Thanks,” you replied, scared he was about to bolt any second now that he'd finished his task. “I suppose of the two of us, you would be the one to know about healing knife wounds.”

This time, the corner of his mouth did pull up into a faint smile. The sight of it gave you the sudden courage to speak before you could stop yourself–or before he left.

“Did you read my note?” you blurted.

He’d been reaching back out towards your coffee table for his gloves, but at your question he’d paused with his hand outstretched above it. You saw the muscle twitch in his cheek before he continued retrieving his gloves from off the table. Nervous sweat pricked at your palms as you waited for his response.

“Yes,” he answered a little stiffly. “I did.”

Terrified of how to broach the topic, you just continued barreling forward, trying to choose honesty. After all, you either scared him away or you didn’t at this point. You were hoping the truth–or at least some of it–might keep him returning to your window.

“You’d disappeared for a while,” you cautiously pointed out. “I…missed you.”

“Figured you'd been busy,” he stated simply. “Didn't want to bother you.”

“Busy?” you asked, pulling a face. “Busy with what?”

“Your new boyfriend,” the Devil answered.

The way he'd said the word ‘boyfriend’ with such obvious distaste had been all the verbal confirmation you needed. Beside you, he'd begun pulling his gloves back on. You figured it was now or never to have this conversation with him.

“He was never my boyfriend, Devil,” you told him. “We never made it past that second date. I ended things before they'd really even started. The day after your last visit, actually.”

The Devil's hands hesitated as he'd been fastening his last glove on. His body stiffened beside you on the couch, his masked face almost determinedly focused away from you.

“What do you mean?” he asked. “I thought you liked him?”

Feeling an embarrassed flush spreading its way up your neck, you glanced down at your own hands. “When I told you about that kiss, I wasn't entirely honest with you,” you began carefully. “It wasn't like any other kiss I'd had before because it was devoid of anything in it. There wasn't any spark, I mean.”

Your hands began fidgeting faster with the hem of your shirt. Trying to admit your attraction to him was more terrifying than you anticipated it to be, especially because he was now sitting quietly beside you. His silence was somehow making him even more intimidating.

“And I felt that with someone else,” you continued slowly. “So I didn't want to keep dragging Dylan along when I knew that it wasn't going to work out,” you confessed. “Because I–” you sucked in a sharp breath, wincing as the words came out in a rush, “–have been attracted to you for a really long time now. Pretty much since you fell on my fire escape.”

Exhaling the breath, you bit your lip and glanced over at the Devil from the corner of your eye. He'd gone completely immobile on your couch now. You weren't entirely sure if he was about to confess his own attraction or run for your window with how still he’d grown, and that had your heart pounding so hard you could feel it in your throat.

“Can you please say something before I puke?” you asked awkwardly. “The lack of words coming out of your mouth is making me nervous.”

The Devil’s head swung in your direction, your pulse somehow increasing further at the abrupt gesture. Fingers still toying with the hem of your shirt, you felt your breath come in faster.

“This can't be what you want it to be,” he stated. “We're just friends. That’s it.”

“Okay,” you replied slowly, still refusing to meet his gaze. “But can you be honest? Those two times in my apartment–you know which ones. We almost kissed, didn't we? I'm not crazy, am I?”

The Devil abruptly rose to his feet at your questions. He began to hurriedly skirt around your coffee table and you knew exactly where he was headed. He was running away. Leaving. Panicked, you rose from the couch, determined to finish this conversation.

“There was something there,” you continued, chasing after him. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice it.”

“It's just attraction,” he told you, shaking his head as he walked. “That's all that was. I don't want you mistaking it for anything else.”

Brows drawing together in confusion, you halted in place, staring at his retreating form as it continued towards your window. Trying to ignore the way your stomach had fluttered at his admission to being attracted to you, you knew you needed to think fast if there was ever a hope of him returning to your apartment. And after two weeks without a sighting of him, you desperately wanted him to come back. So much so that you stupidly spoke without thinking.

“Who says it has to be more than that?” you blurted out.

The Devil stopped in his tracks, his masked face shifting over his shoulder back towards you. Swallowing hard, you wondered what the hell had compelled you to say that and internally you blamed that tight black suit. But you quickly latched onto that idea since it had actually caused him to stop his retreat.

“I'm attracted to you, too,” you admitted awkwardly, the words falling out of you without much forethought. “Why does it have to be anything more than that? Anything more than…friends who are attracted to each other?”

His head tilted to the side, his mouth a straight, hard line as he stared back at you beneath his mask. Wrapping your arms around yourself, you felt a flutter of nerves in your stomach at his pause.

“Because I know that's what you want,” he finally answered. “Something more. And I'm not about to become your boyfriend. It wouldn’t work. I don't do relationships.”

You shrugged, shaking your head at him. “With respect, Devil, don't tell me you know what I want,” you shot back. “Because I can still be your friend who is sometimes…more than that. Right? I mean I'm–I'm open to it if you are. I know what I felt those two times when you were here. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it, too.”

His hands curled into fists at his sides, your eyes drawn down at the movement. Briefly you wondered what that was about before he spoke again, your attention returning to his masked face.

“I don't think what you're suggesting is a good idea,” he warned you, voice dropping to something lower. “You don't even know me.”

“I know you well enough, Devil,” you countered.

He gave a grunt in response, his head darting forward as he once more focused on your window. You felt your entire body deflate as he continued towards it, throwing it open wide before he climbed through it. When he was standing on your fire escape, you watched helplessly as he reached up and grabbed a hold of the window. There was a stern set to his lips that had you worried this could truly be what scared him away once and for all.

“Goodnight, angel,” he stated.

Shoulders dropping in defeat, you watched as he slammed the window shut before he turned and tossed himself over your fire escape. He was gone before you’d even known how to recover from the situation.

With a sigh you turned around, dejectedly making your way back to your couch. Sinking into the cushions and burying your face in your hands, you wondered how you kept managing to mess things up with him. Why the hell had you gone and just offered to be the Devil’s friend with benefits tonight? Especially since you knew you had actual feelings forming for him and wanted more than just something physical–no matter how much you really wanted that, too. Clearly he wanted to keep things strictly friendly, but now you really had gone and made a mess of things. All you could do was find hope in the fact that he’d said ‘goodnight’ and not ‘goodbye’ this time.

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Break in

John Price x reader. WC: 1.9k. CW: break in, canon typical violence.

_____

You hate the winter, it gets dark too quickly. The temperature drops and you hate the cold. The worst thing about winter though is how much it makes you miss your husband. Everyone at work talks about getting ready to spend time with their families, or family and friends coming to visit them. You don’t even know if you’ll see John over the Christmas period.

Last year he left on boxing day, the year before that he was gone for over a week until the 2nd of January. He missed Christmas and new years. You thought you would be used to it by now, him being away but it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier. At least this time he’s in London, he’s on a base most of the time. He keeps telling you if he’s lucky he’ll be there until way after the new year.

That means he comes home at the end of each day, you get to spend time with him and do things you’ve not been able to do in previous years like go shopping for christmas gifts. It doesn’t matter though, it shouldn’t matter, it’s just one day of the year. You could just do a delayed christmas again, it never feels the same though.

You hitch your bag over your shoulder as you walk through the gate to your townhouse. It’s way later than you would normally get home but the house is still dark so clearly John isn’t back yet either. You’re carrying shopping bags in each hand putting one down so you can fish in your pocket for the house key. You close the gate behind you and make it up to the front door.

Your body freezes as you reach out for the lock. Your breathing stops, eyes going wide. Goosebumps rise over your skin.

The door has been kicked in, you can see the damage on the wood where they’ve used a tool to pry it open.

The shopping bag you’ve got round your wrist is pulling your hand down. You don’t know what to do, you should call the police. No, you should call John, maybe he broke in, forgot his keys? But then why didn’t he call you. There’s a pretty sophisticated security system John installed when you first bought the place. You would have got a security notification if it was activated.

You drop the bags on the floor backing up down the steps and reaching into your pocket for your phone. Your hands shake as you walk back down the path until you hit the gate. It takes you two attempts to click John's name before you finally bring the phone up to your ear. He won’t pick up the first time, you let it ring out for a few seconds then call him right back. Then he’ll know it’s important.

“Hey, love. Give me a second.” He says before there’s silence on the like, it feels like the silence is lasting minutes not seconds. You feel a lump rising in your throat, a breath hitches in your throat. You feel silent tears run down your face as you look into the house windows for movement.

“Sorry love. I know I’m late-”

“John, there's someone in the house.” You say before he can finish his sentence. You don’t have time, your heart picks up in your chest.

“What do you mean?” He asks, the tone of his voice is darker.

“I came home and the door was kicked in.” This time your words come out with a sob. You feel sick.

“Okay, I'm on my way.” You hear shuffling, the sound of keys. You don’t know what to do, panic rises in you.

“Should I call the police?” You ask.

“No. I’m coming okay, 10 minutes, I'll be there I promise.” You hear him snap his fingers. “Don’t go in the house okay. Stay outside.” You hear a car door close, then another.

“Okay,” you say, trying to keep your voice steady.

“I’ll be there soon.” He says then hangs up. You’re still looking in the house for movement, you don’t see anything, the rooms dark. You shiver as a cold breeze moves in, it could snow soon, you don’t want to be outside when it snows.

…

John turns the normally 15 minute drive into less than ten, even down the congested London roads he breaks several traffic laws to get home. He’ll deal with the fines later, but the last thing he needs is to get pulled over now.

“What if-” “Don’t even fucking say it.” He snaps at Ghost sitting next to him. His hands grip the steering wheel as he turns down the street towards his house. The place is quiet, it’s almost 9pm. He parks up pulling in so fast he almost hits another car. He can see you, stood on the pavement outside the house, your face red with tears, your arms wrapped around your chest.

They both Jump out of the car and John makes a bee line towards you. His hands come up to cup your face.

“You’re okay, go wait in the car.” he says brushing your tears away with his thumbs. You nod letting out another sob, he watches as you head over to the car getting in the back.

“Take the top floor, I’ll sweep the ground.” He says to Ghost as he walks through the gate towards the house. John takes the lead removing the sidearm from its holster bringing it into his hands. He toes open the door, the house is dark, there’s no sound, they could be gone already.

Ghost is silent on his feet moving up the stairs as John continues down the corridor to the kitchen. He brings the weapon up to his eyeline as he adjusts to the darkness. They have an advantage here, they know the layout of the house better than the intruders, hopefully.

Ghost finds the first guy on the top floor. He’ll be working his way down now. As soon as John is done he will work his way up. The back door was still locked but it could have been locked from the inside without a key. There’s no mess, the place hasn’t been ransacked. They weren't looking for valuables.

The ground floor is clear as John works his way up to the first floor. He heads straight for his home office, maybe they were looking for a different type of valuable.

John finds the second guy in the spare bedroom. Tying him up and throwing him in a closet with tape over his mouth. No need to shed blood in his home, besides gives him something to do tonight other than paperwork.

He meets up with Ghost outside his office pushing the door open together. The window is wide open with the whole place being ransacked. Ghost walks into the room, looking down out the window. John sighs, they’ve missed one and he has no idea what they could have been looking for. Ghost turns to look at him, putting his pistol away. John already knows what he wants to say.

“Don’t fucking say it.” He sighs putting his own pistol away

…

You’re sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea in your hands. John said the place was clear that they didn’t find anyone. Maybe they got spooked when you came home, heard you and ran. That's what you tell yourself to calm your nerves. John walks into the room, he comes over to the sofa and sits down next to you.

His arm goes round your back and you lean into him.

“You did great.” He says rubbing your thigh with his other hand. You don’t know what to say. Someone broke into your house, even with all the security measures John put in place someone got past them and invaded your home.

You’re not even thirsty but you bring the hot tea up to your lips anyway taking a sip letting it burn your throat.

“What if you weren’t here?” You say, your voice is quiet, your head dipped down as more tears come. The panic and adrenaline gone your mind is filled with what ifs.

“Don’t worry about that, I have things in place.” His hand comes up to your chin pulling your face up to look at him as you put the tea back in your lap. “You’re safe here, I promise.”

You don’t believe him, it’s going to be a while before you’re going to feel safe in your own home. Even though whoever was here was gone before John got home, they were still here. It could have been so much worse.

You lean forward putting the cup of tea on the coffee table, it just tastes bitter anyway. His hand rubs your back almost like he’s trying to rub the tension out your muscles. You close your eyes his arms wrap around you as he leans back into the sofa.

“You’re safe I promise. I would never ever let anything happen to you.” He kisses the top of your head. You let out a long breath, that you believe but it’s not always that simple.

“Will you stay? Please don’t leave, at least not for tonight.”

“I will, I’m going to be here with you.” You turn in his arms to look up at him, his deep blue eyes blinking down at you. He leans down pressing his lips to yours. You let yourself sink into the fermilia kiss, his tongue brushing yours as his hands run up and down your body. This is where you feel safe, in his arms, with his touch.

The knock on the door pulls you out of the kiss, he turns to look.

“Let me go chat with him then we’ll go to bed okay?” He says his thumb coming to brush the tears escaping your eyes. You nod sitting back up straight.

He’s not gone for long, coming back in and offering you his hand. You take it and he guides you up to bed, his hands don’t leave you, running up and down your body as you make it to the room. He helps you change, pressing kisses round your neck and shoulders, his fingers brushing hair out your eyes and tears when they fall.

Eventually you crawl into bed together, he rolls over to turn his bedside light off, the only light left on in the room.

“Leave it on.” You say, you’re not sure why, you just don’t want to be in the dark.

“Okay, whatever you need love.” He says pulling your back against his chest and wrapping his arms around you. You close your eyes, listening to the sound of his breathing in your ears.

“I will always be here. Even when it feels like I’m hundreds of miles away I will always be here for you.” He says as he kisses your cheek. You smile at his words, even if you’re doubtful, it’s what you need to hear.

“I love you.” You say as he squeezes you tighter.

“I love you too. You’re safe, you always will be, I promise.” His hand moves down to your waist pulling you against him further. “Get some sleep, I'll be here with you. I’m not leaving your side.”

“Promise?”

“I promise, I’ll protect you, forever. You’re safe, just get some rest.” He nuzzles his face into your neck. You try to stay awake, fighting the sleepiness that comes over you as he runs his hands over you. You can feel his heartbeat, his warm breath in your ear.

At least you’re not outside in the cold, you’re warm and safe in his arms. Strangers broke into your home but you know it won’t happen again because John won’t let it happen again.

____ It was supposed to be short but I don't know when to stop.

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star crossing

a 'partners in crime' installment - luke castellan x dionysus!reader prev -> a wish your heart makes | next -> to see the chaos through words: 4k summary: (established relationship) The one where both your dreams come to life for a night (crossing the stars for love is easier said than done) (Luke Castellan x fem!Dionysus!reader) a/n: as always feel free to ask about lore, especially with the dreams they have at the end of the chapter that depict different greek legends. (esp: hero and leander, dionysus and ariadne, cleopatra and antony if you need a quick google search!) posted: 10/25/24

—

It was most definitely past your bedtime.

Checking the time on your watch and kicking off your boots at the bottom of the stairs, you yawn as exhaustion pulls you up the wooden steps like strings for a marionette.

1:11 am.

A sidelong glance at the twins’ closed doors and the beautiful, sweet sound of silence greets your swaying form; that’s how you know your day as Camp Half-Blood’s head counselor is finally over. The door to your bedroom is wide open, wood creaking beneath your bare feet as your eyes fall upon the scene before you.

And Luke really,reallytried to stay up and wait for you.

“Baby, you still awake?”

The sound of your laughter echoes in the quiet of your bedroomalongwith the soft twinkle of light that filters in through the linen curtains that dance across your window. To complete the ethereal picture is yourlovein human form, conked out against the floral bedspread like a chalk outline from a murder scene. You stifle your snorts behind a clenched fist, bending down to his winged shoes that hang off the bed, fluttering a hello to you at the brush of fingertips as you whisper, “Maia.” Even they get to fall asleep before you, closing in on themselves and thudding to the floor when you loosen the laces.

Luke has his cheek stuck between the pages of your weathered copy ofPride and Prejudice—chapter 60,where Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth talk about how they fell inlove. You pluck it from his grasp with nimble fingers as you bookmark his page and toss it onto your nightstand. Even watching him sleep has you bubbling with devotion for this boy, and what better way to admit that than to let him know you’ve come home? He still doesn’t stir, even as your knees bump along the sides of his body when you climb over him, slowly sinking into the soft of your mattress and the firm of his midsection. You’ve mounted him like one does a horse, observing his eyes moving under the delicate skin of his lids.

Usually, this works wonders for Luke Castellan,hero, yes—but first and foremostateenage boy who gets excited when you even look at him the wrong way (There is no wrong way).

“Mm. Mr. Darcy…” you tease, leaning over him and pressing a kiss to his jaw, then nudging his scar with your thumb as he smiles against it. There’s no question needed, heknows you by touch alone, down to the star stuffyou’re madeof—with the way his hands feel cosmic against your skin as they slip under your shirt and pull you down into the only fights you like partaking in, of lips andlove. You’re smiling hot against his mouth, the kiss of life reviving him even as your teeth clink togethersoundinglike a symphony against the laughter lining the beats of your hearts—so close but not close enough.

Neverclose enough.

“Been waiting for you,” he gruffs, tugging at your bottom lip as he kisses you quicklyonce more. His voice is heavy with sleep, crackling like an open flame. Luke pushes away the hair that drapes against the shape of your face with one hand, the other resting comfortably around your hip, and you sigh. It’s easier to breathe when he’s near, and theweight of the worldfeels a little less oppressive as you look down at him—drowsy with sleep and a bit drunk on loving you too much for his own good.

“Sorry, Lu. M’gonna changeandthen we cuddle?”

He nods, watching your body lift offof himandalready missingyou as you walk across the room.The sounds that come with your night routine are like ASMR to his sleepy consciousness—hearing the rush of water in the shower, the soft sound of you humming to keep yourself awake.Luke lays there with a small smile, wearinga tie-dye shirt of yoursthat cuts off at his midriff and boxers that have seen better days.A lot of your relationship is like this—domesticity after hours and mostly away from prying eyes (not if Luke can helpit). Some might think it’s boring and there’s only so much to do to entertain yourself hidden deep in the Long Island Sound, butloveisin the wayhe spreads your wet hair over his arm so it doesn’t stick to your back as you lie down. Love is in the gasp youlet outwhen you finally look at the ceiling, glittering and glowing just for you.

“You fixed them!”

And yes, there are stars that dot the night sky outside your window reflecting through the glassbutthey’ve also come alive on the ceiling of your cabin after all these years. They started peeling a while ago, but you haven't had the chance to fix them yourself. Hand-pressed and fluorescent, Luke restuck them up one by oneflyingup and around in his shoes while you were off doing night rounds. Even in the dark, he thinks he’d find their faint shine in your eyes, knowing the adoration in your eyes is a sight reserved only for him.

“You like‘em? I tried to do the constellationsbutI think I fucked up. There might be two little dippers.”

Your hand slaps his chestandhe snorts, breaking out into a grin when you shift against him, “They’rereally pretty.” He thinks you’rereally pretty—and the ugly face you make when he voices his thoughts still doesn’t change his mind.

Soft fingers trace their way up his abdomen, under the worn fabric of your shirt that he’s stolenandyou murmur, “Thank you, baby.” Thesilence that followsisfull—it swells in both of your chests like a balloon about to pop.You always feel like this when you’re with Luke, to be honest.Airy and in a whirlwind, left in the dust after he stirs your insides up to rearrange the mess until everything feels right again.

“I cannot fix on the hour,orthe spot, or the look of the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

“Hey!” he jokes, “No spoilers,Trouble. I was getting to the good part.” You roll over, leaning your chin onto his chest. He watches your head move on his body with every breath he takes.

“Luke, thatisthe good part. You’d know if you didn’t fall asleep.”

“I think I like books better when you explain them to me,” he poutsandhe’s so stupidly attractive it makes you giggle. Luke likesthe wayyour laughter surrounds his heart, pounding back against his ribcage as if asking to be let in. “Reading is hard. I don’t know how you do it.”

“I like stories,” you muse, tracing the slope of his nose gentlyandhis eyes flutter shut like adrowsybaby, “Maybe it’s because of my dadbutwords are so vivid to me. I don’t need to figure out what the letters mean, thepictures play in my head like a movie. Stories are what keep me sane, I think.”

Luke’s hand sifts through your hair, cradling the base of your head. He tugs at it in a fluid motion so that you’re leaning up to look at himdoublechin and all, “I wish everyone could see the world the way you do,Trouble. I think everything would be a lot more…”

“Chaotic?”

He laughs. It’s a loud sound that comes from his bellyandyou smack him, afraid that he’ll wake the twins downstairs.

“I’d say fascinating. I’ve never met someone like you,”hesmiles thoughtfully, poking the soft of your cheek. You’re pouting now, albeitplayfullyas you say,” I sure hope not. You’re stuck with me and no one else.”

“May the gods have mercy on us all,” he groans dramatically, the air getting knocked out of him with anoof!when you flop your head back onto his chest, “Fine, I’ll stop. Tell me a story, Trouble.”

“Like what? I can tell you about…What about…” you hum, playing with his fingers, “Hero and Leander?”

“Mm-mm,” he shakes his head, curls brushing against his forehead with the movement. Your eyes are alight now, your mind racing with the thoughts in your headandany inkling of sleepis washed away.

“Cleopatra and Antony?”

“You told my siblings that one last week.”

“Luke, you were snoringby the timeI got to the part with Cleopatra fleeing with her troops…” you chuckle as he tugs your hair in protest. You both have a way with words—his are smooth, and yours send him to sleep. Not in a boring way—he could never be bored of you. Every word that leaves your mouth captivates him, calms him in a way that makes him forget that anythingbadhas ever happened. And anyway, he ripped your copy of that tale back when you were 16. You didn’t talk to him for a weekandhe was frightened and felt so bad that he snuck out and permanently borrowed a first edition from a bookstore two towns over. It sits in its shiny dustjacket on the top of your shelf. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice was one he knew like the back of his hand after the production earlier this year (who else would you make the kids run their lines with), so that one was out of the questiontoo.

“What about the one with my dad and step-mom?” Your boyfriend is silent, and you think he’s fallen asleep again until his hot breath reaches your face as he sighs, “Are there any stories you like that…Idunno, aren’tsad? Or end in death?”

“Luke, they’re all love stories. Lots of them are star-crossed. What does it matter?”

He sits up on his forearms, looking down at the picture you make laid against him—hair framing your face like a halo and cheeks kissed by moonlight. The son of Hermes blinks at you, a finger reaching out to boop your nose, "Because they’re all tragedies, pretty girl. Tell me something with a good ending. Something real.”You sit up,oppositefromhimasyou lean your head against your shoulder and roll your eyes, “Loveat most times is a tragedy, baby.The greatest ones are—and those are real stories!” Luke doesn’t seem satisfied with your answer. How could it be that the greatest love stories have endings at all?

He doesn’t dare think you two would be the same.

There is no conceivable end to hislovefor you.The Fates wouldjusthave to accept that, he thinks.

“I can hear you thinking from here. You’regonnahurt yourself,” you joke, tugging athisarm. “Angelface. Hey. Just because those stories ended like that doesn’t make them bad.” Luke’s playing with the edge of your quilt and not looking into your eyes. He’s uncharacteristically skeptical, but you’re the daughter of the god of storytelling—you would know better than him. Your expression softens; you’ve never had anyone be scared of losing you until him. It’s always been the other way around. So it must be true then thatloveis a catalyst because everything changes once you fall deep into it.

“Luke. I’ll tell you a good story.”

“Yeah?” he mumbles, looking up at you like he wasn’t the one who hung the starsuponto your wood-paneled sky. You lean in and kiss him quickly, and he’d think you didn’t mean to if it weren’t for the stupid smile that graces your face afterward, “I like our story the best.”

You two have been in a relationship for almost half a year now, at each other’s wit’s end for four years, and inlove…wellwhoknows when that started? It depends on who you ask.

“Really?”

A smile splits the scar on his face. It’s one of your favorite things about Luke Castellan—perfect even with what most consider his flaws. But you know he wouldn’t be himself without it, not anymore. He takes it wherever he goes, even with the weight that scar presses down on him most nights—the touch of humility it’s given him since his quest.

Plusitwould’ve taken you much longer to fall inlovewith the egotistical little fuck he was before that.

“No notes, no rewrites,” you say, biting the inside of your cheek. Sometimes, you need reminders that life isn’t allthat bad at Camp Half-Blood. Even if you’re the daughter of the Camp Director, things could be worse than being in bed and watching stars (both real and fake) with your boyfriend at one in the morning. Your face goes numb at the same time you realize something, “Like Mr. Darcy said. I don’t remember when I fell inlovewith you. I don’t think I could pinpoint it.Ijustremember thinkingthatI didn’t hate you likeI thoughtI did.It shocked me more that I liked you instead of the fact that I was inlovewith you. DeepdownI already knew that.” It was an inexplicable pull—something unspoken between the two of you that no matter what happened next, your futureswere sure tobe intertwined.

“Hmm.Ifthe greatest love stories are tragedies, then what would ours be?”Luke mumbles, his nose grazing against yours. It tickles with the breath of his question that falls against your lips.

“Well, those are stories with endings, Lu. There’s no end in sight for us. I won’t allow it.”

Smirking at him matter-of-factly, you’re positive there’s no other way. Luke Castellan being in your life is the only thing you’d lay everything on the line for. It’s the only confident assurance you have.

“What are you talking about now?”

“With us, we make anything possible, don’t we? Look. Would Romeo and Juliet be as memorable or good of a story if they lived happily ever after?” He tugs at your necklace, pulling you in with a finger as he whispers, “You’re insane.” And though that’s true, he’s happy about it.

“Great love stories are tragedies because they have endings. We have so much living to do!” Springing to your feet,you’re jumpingup and down as you bounce on the mattress. Luke’s laughter makes a melody with the sounds of the squeaky box spring as he looks at you from below as you whisper-yell, “It’s nowhere near over for usbabe!If I’m crazy, and you’re inlovewith me—then soare you, loser!”You point at him like it’s an accusation, and well, he can’t argue with that, so he hops up to meet you with an earth-shattering grin, “You’re right again.”

The two of you are jumping up and down like idiots inlove, the bed squeaking underfoot as you giggle, half spinning, half hugging until Luke murmurs, “But then what happens at the end?”

It’s never beeneasy,getting to where you two are—trusting each other with the baggage you came to camp with.Always waiting for the other shoe to drop, always wondering when the gods will laugh at your expense.You’re nuzzledagainst the shirt he stole from your closet, inhaling citrus and the subtle smell of berries. Luke must’ve used your shampoo again—but the fact is clear.

There is no him withoutyou,or you without him.

“There’s no end if we don’t give up. The people in the stories didn’t,” you say indignantly. Staring up into a sea of amber, he’s unblinking. Luke is actually worried about this—you. “Trouble, all your examples of great loves died.”

“Baby…but until whatever end, they were together. Afterlife, or Olympus—it still ended withlove. Ijustthink…” You mumble into his chest, “You and me…we’re crazy enough to brave that. Star crossing.... Even if we’re not gods.” He’s deep in thought now. Luke would go the distance every nightevenif it meant to see you for even a moment. He’d complete any quest if it meant forever with you, jump ship,andleave all his responsibilities if it ensured your safety, even walk through hell to bring you back. And in that moment, the stars seemed like a cakewalk.BecauseLuke would do it too, for you.

“I know we are,” he chuckles, “I’m sureof it.”

Soon enough, you’re both tucked under the patterned bedspread, eyes slowly fluttering shut in the silence of the shadows and twinkly stars. The last thing Luke Castellan notices as he tucks his nose against your cheek is that everything from your sleepy eyes to the blinking glimmer of the sky isultraviolet. The stars are within reach, breathing softly against his neck tonight. He thinks he hears you muttersomethingjust as Hypnos takes him from you, “You’re the first person I ever pictured a future with, you know that?”

As everything fades to black, he knows one thing—you deserve the world.

Hejustneeds to figure out how to give it to you.

—

Perhaps it’s the fact that you’re pretty much sleeping on top of eachother,or that even indreamsyou want each other there, butthere’s a dizzying sequence thattakes place in the few hours before dawn breaks.Morpheus, the god ofdreams, must be laughing wherever he is—even in hisdomainyou two are inseparable. He allows it just thisonce;two demigods escaping to a different realm together.

Even gods break the rules if it means for a good story.

—

Winter air blows through the open window of your tower as you wait for your lover to arrive. You cradle the flame in your palm, struggling to relight the lantern through mist and fogandyou’re worried he’s lost his way. Rain patters against the stone walls of your prison, catching onto the tendrils of hair that frame your face. It’s been so long already.

He should be here by now.He promised.

You always worry—if all you can do is anxiously pray for his safe arrival, you’ll do it every time until he’s in your arms again. He calls youhis Hero, but the fearthat wracksyour body as you wait here is not a testament to bravery. Each journey oflovehe makes is—no matter how many hours, no matter if the sea nymphs drag him by the ankles—he will find a way to your guiding light.Leaning over the windowsill, your eyes squint in the darkness, watching raindrops pelt the Hellespont like bullets instead of water.

Your light will lead him home to you, as it always has.

Even if the weather changes, his devotion does not. Daybreak spreads to the horizon, and Aphrodite answers your solemn prayer—bringing you yourlovein human form.The sight ofhim steals your breath away as the goddess has stolen his. He foughthis way to your door, curls and clothes covered in seaweed and sand. But your lover never breaks a promise, lifeless eyes reflecting the color of the flame hanging in your window.

Such luck it is to serve the goddess ofloveand have her take it from you.

The decision to jump is as involuntary as breathing.He’sat the bottom anyway, ready to catch your fall. The air is still cold in the morning light—goosebumps ravage your body as youtake yourjourney to be with him.

You trust that it will feel like summer in his arms again.

—

Another day brings another battle, and theend of the waris near. Octavian will be knocking down your doorand everything you’ve worked for has gone to hell. You always knew the best lies to tell—you knew what to say to make him run across the continent to see you. A courtesan meant to be his queen, he’d give up his empire ifmeantyou were alright.

It doesn’t matter now.

Yourlovelays in your arms with stagnated breathandhis blood is on your hands, yet still he’s yours. He was yours at the height of the empire, and he is yours as you both hide from the rest of the world in this dusty mausoleum. You are his mortal and unending wound, thebiggestloss of his career but his heart’sgreatestvictory. And you’re breathing—that’s what matters tohim;nothing else.Everything he touches turns redandby now, the ocean mustbe sulliedby the blood of his troops.

History will remember you both as villains.

But as the poison sinks its fangs into your system, you interlock your bloodied hand with his with not a single regret.

Love is your undoing, and there is no greater glory than this.

—

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.

The sand is warminbetween his toesandthe ship he arrived on is long gone, along with his ex-lover. But in his path to know grief andangerhe found you. It was a spiritual awakening in a grove dedicated to your namesake—and from the second he steppedfootinto your space, you had to have him.

He’s never encountered a god before, much less onethatloved him like youdo.You’re madeof ichor, sacred, and meant to be untouchable.You believe in him like no other, and he doesn’t think he’s worthy, even if you insist thatit’s okay to see eye to eye.Yours are like amethysts on his favorite crown from a home he used to have before Naxos—before he threw it all away forlove.

Nowhehas nothing.

Not a coin in his pocket, just the crown on his head. There is no money or titles here on this island, so he doesn’t understand what about him is so appealing to you. The words that come out of your mouth are insane—though that is your domain, he finds it difficult to believe that you are anything buttrouble. You promise him a place with him in the heavens when he’s wasted his life away being left behind by the people he loves and the paths he choseto take. A large part of carving new paths is always having an endpoint.

So he makes one, leaving everything behind again before you can hurt him like he’sbeen hurtbefore.

It seems that every path leads to you. Throughinsurmountableodds, you show up and revel in the pain—you blossom from it, descending into the Underworld and brushing hellfire off your shoulder to save him, a gentle hand outstretched with a promise of eternity and unimaginable riches. He’s been rich before—he had everything in the palm of his hand once upon a timebutforever is a path he’s never traveled.

You toss his crown into the sky until it shatters into starlight and smile at him. There is all the time in the universe to watch the stars together.

—

All the small details in those dreams willbe lostto you by morning—an inkling of something that almost was or could’ve been, only marked by the faintest touch of time. It covers your eyes and fades away when Morpheus lifts the haze by the sound of your morning alarm. Luke blinks slowly, waking up with you in his arms and feeling like he’s traveled through different lifetimes without leaving the bed you share. The son of Hermes looks down at you lovingly, face smooshed against his neck, trying to chase an ending to that dream in case the gods feel nice enough to let you have a few more minutes of shut-eye.

Somewhere, everywhere, there is a tug of fate that transcends lifetimes for you two to meet.

But in this life, compared to others, you can only hold onto the truth with a firmhand;thatyou were there last night under all of the stars—onesyou’ve touched and the ones you reach for, dreaming of a life to live together.

—

"You and I know each other in our bones." - Kurt Vonnegut

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18+ mdni.

pairing: toxic ex bf!ten x fem!reader

warnings: ten is super manipulative, he's mean too, mention of harassment, toxic relationship, dubcon-ish.

wc: 1.6k

your phone is ringing again. the melody echoes in the room, breaking the heavy silence that was once installed in your kitchen. your phone vibrates on the marble counter as you look down at it, the familiar number showing up on the screen.

you gulp down, letting it ring until the call eventually ends. you get notified of a new message on your voicemail and you reluctantly pick up your phone.

you have 10 missed calls and 4 messages on your voicemail from the same exact number.

it’s been like this every night since your breakup with your ex-boyfriend, ten. it was 6 months ago, but he hasn’t accepted the fact you’re not together anymore. at least that’s what you think with what his messages say.

he wasn’t as insistent in the beginning, he was playing the sad and apologetic boyfriend card, telling you how much he regrets the way he was treating you and that he wishes for a second chance. you didn’t give him one, of course.

well, not exactly.

you used to answer his calls and entertain the idea of forgiving him. you were wrong for that, you now realize, but ten has always been so convincing, and with how soft-spoken he is, everything he said seemed trustworthy.

after letting him in your apartment a couple of times, after letting him touch you and kiss you, but as the night always ended horribly with tears in your eyes and insults thrown at you, you gave up and never answered his calls again. you were done with him — officially.

you decide to listen to his most recent message, putting your phone to your ear. you start to anxiously bite down on your bottom lip, pacing around in your kitchen.

“answer me, please. i’m outside, just let me in. we have to talk, baby, you know we have to…”

you rush to the window in your living room, pulling the curtains aside to look down where ten should be if he was really outside, but he’s not. did someone let him in?

when it’s the end of his message you click on another one, bringing your phone to your ear.

“i’m doing the most for you, you know? and that’s how you treat me? ignoring my calls, throwing my letters in the trash, making me wait here little an idiot…” you listen to his rambles, walking to your front door. “remember those flowers you found outside your door? they weren’t from that little brat… what’s his name again?” he pauses for a short moment. “yeah, yangyang… they weren’t from him, baby. it was my gift.”

“nobody will do what i do for you. you know why? ‘cause you’re just a seeking attention whore, and men don’t like that. you should know by now that i’m the only one generous enough to put up with you.”

you hear the beep that signals the end of the message and you look at your phone, defeated, eyes welling up in tears. he knows where to hit. he knows where it hurts.

you unlock your front door and step outside, going to check around for ten. you lean over the railing, glancing down, but he isn’t there either. maybe he left and didn’t get in the building like you thought?

“so, you finally decided to show up?”

you turn around, startled by ten. you breathe out, calming yourself down, even though your heart races faster.

his black hair hides his forehead, some wild strands peeking out in every direction. his white shirt is also unbuttoned all the way down, showing his tank-top of the same colour underneath.

“ten…” you call his name, unsure of what he’s going to do — of what he’s planned to do.

he can see the clear tears in your eyes, looking oh so desperate. he still has you trapped in his weebs, he knows it. you’re still affected by his words, by what he thinks of you. you’re so weak, but that’s why he likes you. you’re so easy to manipulate.

“let’s get inside, yeah?” he proposes, but you know you don’t have a say in it.

you let him in after you, closing the door and looking at him anxiously. ten checks out your apartment, noting that it hasn’t changed since the last time he was here. everything is the same, it’s like you’re unconsciously afraid of change.

you stand there, tears threatening to fall, but you wipe them off quickly before ten can say anything about it. you take a huge breath, “did you mean it?” you ask, and he turns around, facing you. “your message,” you specify, “or was it… i don’t know…” a way to hurt me.

he steps closer to you, passing a hand through his dark hair, and it’s like reviving all those moments you had with ten as your boyfriend, all the good and bad ones. he looks down at you, staring into your eyes, “do you really want to know what i think? is that what you want, baby?”

he gets closer and closer, his face inches away from yours. he only has to lean in a little bit and he’d be able to kiss your lips.

you think about his words and shake your head as a no, gaze shifting between his eyes and pink lips. what does it mean if he says no? and what if he says yes? it’s simpler if you don’t know.

you turn your head to the side, cowering in front of your ex-boyfriend’s stare. it’s embarrassing how easily he can trick you. you’re so gullible, it’s pathetic.

he takes a hold of your chin and brings your face back toward him, forcing you to look at him. “tell me one thing, love,” ten begins, his breath fanning across your face and making your eyes flutter, “do you love him?” he asks and his question catches you off guard. “do you love him the same way you did for me?”

you frown, guessing where this is going. he’s trying to make you doubt… and it’s working. you could never love someone as much as you did for ten. as much as you do…

you’re unable to speak, words caught in your throat, but he already knows the answer; of course you don’t.

“see, that’s what i think… you shouldn’t play with someone’s heart when yours isn’t even available,” he softly says, articulating each word perfectly. “that’s dishonest, baby.”

“you wouldn’t hurt a poor guy like yangyang who thinks he has a chance with you, right? you wouldn’t want that…” he continues, adding more salt to the open wound.

ten is right. you can’t be with someone else when you’re still not over your ex-boyfriend. but you want to be over him, you wish you could turn the page, finally. you just can’t, though. not when ten is always there. he’ll never leave you.

he’s the only one that could ever love you, anyway.

ten kisses you softly, but he bites into your bottom lip, as if emphasizing on the fact that his love will always come with pain and misery. you accept it nonetheless, and he leans in, making you arch your back as his lips follow yours.

he’s always chased you, and you’ve always played hard to get, even though your heart is the most accessible thing. nothing hiding it, just out on the outside for ten to take and he of course did it gladly.

it’s like that even now, pushing on his chest, but he tightens his hold, keeping you secured against him. he brings you away as his mouth explores yours until you feel the counter of the kitchen island hitting you in the lower back, caging you there.

ten puts his hands on your shoulders and lowers you down to your knees, his fingers finding their spot in your hair. “i know you want it, baby. just take it,” he purrs, pulling your face into his growing bulge as your eyes stare up at him through your eyelashes.

your mind is fuzzy, you don’t know what to think anymore, but your desires will always have the best out of you. you just can’t help it. you blink a few times, getting the water out of your eyes while reaching out for his zipper.

you tug down his jeans and boxers, and ten guides your mouth to his erection with a hand behind your head. you oblige, feeling the familiar taste of his pre-cum on your tongue. you gently suck on his tip, going slowly until he pushes your head down on him, taking the entirety of his length inside your mouth.

“f-fuck,” he moans and grips the side of the counter, your hair still wrapped around his fist. his bangs fall in front of his eyes as he titls down his head and you’re a little relieved to not feel his intense gaze on you anymore. “good girl, that’s it… take all of it.”

despite blinking the tears out of your eyes, they’re fast to come back as you struggle to breathe, ten keeping your head steady in place. he eventually pulls out and you gasp out for air, but he’s rather focused on your glossy lips, a strand of spit connecting them to his tip.

“so, so pretty. didn’t you miss it, baby? didn’t you miss my cock in your pretty little throat?” he asks in his sultry voice, tempting you to answer yes to everything he says.

you bob your head and he smiles, something you haven’t seen in a while that inevitably makes your heart flutter.

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Please, please explain how to install and use linux like I'm 5 years old. I'm so sick of windows adding AI and other bullshit to my already struggling elderly laptop but I'm really not good with computers at all so I have no idea where to start with Linux.

Okay, so, I'm going to break this down into steps I would give the average tumblr user first, and then if any of them are confusing or use words you don't understand, ask me and I'll explain that step in greater detail.

Step 0) BACK. UP. YOUR. SHIT.

NEVER EVER EVER CHANGE YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM WITHOUT A COMPLETE BACKUP OF ALL YOUR FILES.

Step 1) Learn your machine. You need to know:

How much RAM you have

If your processor is 32 or 64 bit

How big your hard drive is

On windows, you can find out all of this by going to the start menu, typing "about" and opening the first result on your system instead of the internet.

For additional instructions, visit this page.

Step 2) Pick your Linux.

There's like 10,000 kinds of Linux, each tailored to particular functions that the end-user (that is you!) might want to have. The sheer amount is very daunting, so first I'm going to give my suggestions, then I'll explain how to pick for yourself.

For Mac users, I suggest Kubuntu. For windows users, I suggest Mint Cinnamon. If your laptop is really REALLY old, I recommend Sparky Stable, which is the lightest weight Linux I would ever suggest for a new user. In every case, download the version suited to your processor (32 bit can be labelled "x86" or "32 bit"; 64 bit is always labelled "64 bit").

If you want to try a different type of linux, you'll need to make sure your laptop meets the "minimum specs" or "system requirements." These numbers tell you how much RAM, processor and hard drive space the linux will use. (That's why you needed those numbers at the beginning.)

Step 3) Collect your supplies. You're going to need:

An ISO burning program compatible with your current system, like Balena Etcher.

A copy of the ISO file for the Linux you want to use.

Your laptop.

An 8gb or larger USB flash drive.

Step 3) Make a bootable USB drive

Install Balena Etcher, hitting "okay" and "next" when prompted. Last I checked, Etcher doesn't have adware attached, so you can just hit next every time.

Plug your USB drive into the laptop.

Open Etcher.

Click "flash from file" and open the ISO file with your Linux on it.

Click "Select target" and open the USB drive location. Hit the "flash" button. This will start writing all the linux installer data to your flash drive. Depending on the speed of your machine, this could take as long as 10 minutes, but shouldn't be much longer.

Step 4) Boot to the USB drive

This is, in my opinion, the trickiest step for a lot of people who don't do "computer stuff." Fortunately, in a rare act of good will, Windows 10 made this process a lot easier.

All you'll need to do is go to settings, then recovery, then advanced startup and pick the button labelled "use a device."

This tutorial has images showing where each of those is located. It's considered an "advanced setting" so you may get a spooky popup warning you that you could "harm your system by making changes" but we're not doing anything potentially harmful so you can ignore that if you get it.

Step 5) Try out linux on the flash drive first.

Linux installs using a cool little test version of itself that you can play around in. You won't be able to make changes or save settings, but you can explore a bit and see if the interface is to your liking. If it's hideous or hard to navigate, simply pick a new linux version to download, and repeat the "make a bootable USB" step for it.

Step 6) Actually install that sucker

This step varies from version to version, but the first part should be the same across the board: on the desktop, there should be a shortcut that says something like "install now." Double click it.

Follow the instructions your specific linux version gives you. When in doubt, pick the default, with one exception:

If it asks you to encrypt your drive say no. That's a more advanced feature that can really fuck your shit up down the road if you don't know how to handle it.

At some point you're going to get a scary looking warning that says 1 of 2 things. Either:

Install Linux alongside Windows, or

Format harddrive to delete all data

That first option will let you do what is called "dual booting." From then on, your computer will ask every time you turn it on whether you want Windows or Linux.

The second option will nuke Windows from orbit, leaving only linux behind.

The install process is slower the larger your chosen version is, but I've never seen it take more than half an hour. During that time, most linux versions will have a little slideshow of the features and layout of common settings that you can read or ignore as you prefer.

Step 7) Boot to your sexy new Linux device.

If you're dual booting, use the arrow keys and enter key to select your linux version from the new boot menu, called GRUB.

If you've only got linux, turn the computer on as normal and linux will boot up immediately.

Bonus Step: Copy Pasting some code

In your new start menu, look for an application called "terminal" or "terminal emulator." Open that up, and you will be presented with an intense looking (but actually very harmless) text command area.

Now, open up your web browser (firefox comes pre-installed on most!), and search the phrase "what to do after installing [linux version you picked]"

You're looking for a website called "It's FOSS." Here's a link to their page on Mint. This site has lots and lots of snippets of little text commands you can experiment with to learn how that functionality works!

Or, if you don't want to fuck with the terminal at all (fair enough!) then instead of "terminal" look for something called "software manager."

This is sort of like an app store for linux; you can install all kinds of programs directly from there without needing to go to the website of the program itself!

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A practical, step-by-step approach to break free from phone and content addiction:

The goal is to create a lifestyle that is much more attractive than going back to the void for momentary pleasure

Environment Modification

Place your phone in a different room while working/studying

Use a basic alarm clock instead of phone alarm

Create phone-free zones (bedroom, dining area)

Put your phone in grayscale mode to reduce visual appeal

Delete most engaging/addictive apps

Move remaining social apps to the last screen of your phone

Replace Addictive Behaviors Instead of reaching for your phone when:

Waking up → Do light stretching, drink water

Feeling bored → Keep a book handy, practice a hobby

Taking breaks → Go for a short walk, do quick exercises

Before bed → Read, journal, or meditate

Waiting in line → Practice mindfulness, observe surroundings

Eating → Focus on your food, practice mindful eating

#Build Healthy Digital Habits

Use app timers (set 30-minute daily limits for social apps)

Schedule specific times to check social media/content

Turn off all notifications except calls from important contacts

Install website blockers during work hours

Use "Do Not Disturb" mode more frequently

Keep your phone out of sight during tasks

#Create Meaningful Alternatives

Develop offline hobbies (drawing, writing, crafts)

Join in-person social groups/classes

Exercise regularly

Practice meditation

Spend time in nature

Learn a new skill that requires focus

#Mindset Shifts

Recognize triggers that lead to excessive phone use

Practice sitting with boredom

Focus on creating rather than consuming

Be present in social situations

Understand that you're not missing out by being offline

##Progressive Reduction Week 1: Baseline awareness - track your usage Week 2: Remove most addictive apps Week 3: Implement phone-free morning routine Week 4: Establish phone-free periods throughout day Week 5: Create new habits to replace phone use

# specific actionable steps:

Waking Up:

Stretch arms overhead while still in bed

Roll shoulders back and forward

Gentle spinal twists while lying down

Cat-cow stretches after getting up

Drink a full glass of room temperature water

Open curtains to get natural light exposure

Feeling Bored:

Keep a paperback book in your bag/desk

Have a small sketchbook and pen handy

Practice a portable hobby (origami, knitting)

Carry a puzzle book (sudoku, crosswords)

Learn finger exercises for dexterity

Practice a language using flashcards

Taking Breaks:

Walk up and down stairs

Do 5 minutes of jumping jacks or squats

Step outside for fresh air

Shoulder rolls and neck stretches

Quick cleaning task in your space

Simple breathing exercises

Before Bed:

Write three gratitude points

Plan tomorrow's tasks

Read a physical book (not e-book)

Do gentle yoga or stretching

Practice progressive muscle relaxation

Write about your day's experiences

Waiting in Line:

Notice five things you can see

Focus on four things you can feel

Listen for three distinct sounds

Observe people's expressions and body language

Practice good posture

Do subtle ankle and calf exercises

Eating:

Notice the temperature of your food

Chew each bite thoroughly (aim for 20-30 chews)

Identify different flavors and textures

Put your utensil down between bites

Sit at a proper table when possible

Express gratitude for your meal

Remember: The goal isn't to be perfect, but to gradually build these healthier habits. Start with one context (like mealtime) and build from there.

Here's how to handle those intense urges to check your phone;

#Immediate Physical Response

Take 3 deep breaths

Stand up or change your position

Clench and unclench your fists

Stretch your arms overhead

Drink a full glass of water

Walk to a different room

#The 10-Minute Rule

Tell yourself "I'll wait just 10 minutes"

Set an actual timer

Often the urge passes within this window

If it doesn't, the pause still gives you control

#Urge Surfing Technique

Acknowledge the urge without judgment

Notice where you feel it in your body

Observe how it rises and falls

Remember urges are temporary waves

They typically peak at 20-30 seconds

#Quick Alternatives

Do 10 jumping jacks

Write down what you're feeling

Look out the window and find 5 specific things

Organize something small nearby

Hum your favorite song

Stretch your fingers and hands

# Ask Yourself:

"What am I trying to avoid right now?"

"What am I actually needing in this moment?"

"Will this matter in 24 hours?"

"What could I create instead of consume?"

#Emergency Reset Options

Splash cold water on your face

Step outside briefly

Call or text a friend

Do a quick physical task

Listen to one song

Write down your current goal

Remember: Each time you resist an urge; you're building stronger neural pathways. The urge will get easier to manage with practice.

##A targeted journaling approach to redirect that "random lookup" energy into something more meaningful:

#Curiosity Journal Structure

Keep two sections:

"Questions I Want to Answer" (capture random thoughts)

"Planned Research Time" (dedicated lookup sessions)

Date each entry

Include how urgent each question feels (1-5 scale)

Note why you want to know this information

#Daily Practice Morning Brain Dump (5-10 minutes):

Write all questions floating in your mind

Add topics you might want to explore

Rate their true importance

Schedule specific research time

Evening Reflection:

Which questions still matter?

What did you learn today?

What patterns do you notice in your curiosity?

Was the information you looked up actually valuable?

#Implementation Rules

Write down every urge to look something up

Wait at least 30 minutes before researching

Batch similar questions together

Set specific research time blocks (e.g., 4-4:30 PM)

Review old questions - many become irrelevant

#Question Categories Create sections for:

Essential Knowledge (work/study related)

Personal Growth

Pure Entertainment

Practical Needs

Random Curiosity

This helps you:

See patterns in your distractions

Identify what truly matters

Transform impulse into intentional learning

Build focus and patience

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How to read the new Witcher book, Crossroads of Ravens, in English (e-book) [GUIDE]

Thanks to @nohtora for the method, I decided to write up a short post detailing how to use Calibre e-reader to read a side-by-side English translation from the Polish text.

This post is dated 12/02/2024 - as of yet, no English translation has been scheduled, nor even announced. I am writing this because I have seen many fans say they want to read the book and are sad because they can't read Polish and don't want to wait forever for a translation and get to posting memes already. Well, me too.

So, I read it.

Because, if you are an international fan like I, and do not live in Poland, you can still purchase a copy of the new book of Rozdroże kruków ("Crossroads of Ravens") and read it... also in English.

How, you might ask? Well, by buying it and translating it yourself... or rather, not yourself, but with the assistance of... *Percival Schuttenbach voice* modern technology!

Now, when I read it, I did the foolish thing of copying and pasting literally page-by-page into Google Translate. Noels (nohtora) had a much better solution, which I will detail here.

This method is easy, free (well you gotta buy the book, but not the software) and accessible (available on Mac, PC, Linux). If you have access to a computer and are OK with reading from screens, I recommend this.

In total, it took me about 10 to 20 minutes to set up from scratch.

Step 1. Download Calibre, a free and open-source e-reader program. Step 2. Install the translation plugin - also free and open-source. Step 3. Purchase the e-book. Step 4. Open the e-book with the plugin, translate. Step 5. Read!

Step 1: Install your e-book reader.

Download Calibre here. It is a free and open-source e-reader program for laptops/computers (although it does not run on mobile devices). You install it like any other program on your computer (Windows, MacOS, or Linux).

Step 2: Download the translation plugin.

Use this free Calibre plugin to translate e-books.

Watch until 1:00 to install the plugin. The rest of the video you should return to later, during Step 4.

Notes of steps to install plugin: (1) Open Preferences. (2) Get plugins. (3) Get "Ebook Translator" from Author "bookfere.com"

Step 3: Buy the book.

You can purchase Rozdroże kruków online for about $8.

I purchased my copy from Legimi, which I will show you now. I didn't really poke around for other websites, it seems like Legimi had it the quickest. But other sites will have this ebook eventually, so don't feel pressured to get it from Legimi, specifically. I just wanted to include a "how to purchase" step in this guide because (1) it's a direct link to get it (2) in case people felt anxious about navigating a UI they can't read.

This is what the page for Rozdroże kruków looks like. As you can see, it is currently 34.99 zł, or: $8.57 US, $13.21 Aus, £6.77, or €8.15.

For me, it was $8.49 after foreign transaction fees. (I paid through PayPal).

But before you buy anything, you first need to create an account.

From the homepage, click the yellow button, "Zarejestruj się", "Sign up".

Put your username, email address, password, and confirm password. Check the first box to accept the terms of service. Don't check the second box unless you want their newsletter.

I kind of... already bought the book, so I can't buy it again on this account. I have selected a couple of other books for demonstration purposes. Same process.

Select the "ebook" tab, the right one on the ribbon (underlined in green), to buy the singular book and not a subscription. Then select the yellow button, "Dodaj do koszyka", or "Add to cart".

After adding to your cart, click the yellow button to go to your cart and checkout.

Check to accept the digital distribution agreement.

You can then pay with your credit card or PayPal. (From top to bottom, left to right: "First and last name on card" "Credit card number" "Expiration date" "Security code").

Don't worry that it says you will pay in złoty, it will be converted. There may be a foreign transaction fee depending on your bank, but it is typically small (around 3%). If you are only buying an $8 book, that will not be much.

From here, you are going to want to click the WHITE button: "Przejdź do półki", "Go to shelf". (The green button is to download their application, which we're not gonna do for this).

If you skip this on accident, just go to your profile in the top right corner and click "Półka", "Shelf", to see the books on your account.

You will see it in your shelf. Click on it.

Click the yellow button "EPUB" to download it as a .epub format. Save to your Downloads or where-ever is convenient.

Step 4: Open the book in Calibre.

Refer back to the video from Step 2 for this section and watch the part on how to use the plugin. I will add my example here, too.

Open Calibre. Click "Add Book" at the top of the ribbon. Locate rozdroze-krukow.epub from where you saved it. It will be copied to your Calibre library.

Before starting the translation, make sure to adjust settings in the Translate Book option (sometimes hidden in the ribbon as you can see in my screenshot - just click the kebab menu on the right to bring it up) to export the file the way you would like it to be formatted. I also recommend checking the box in "General" to allow it to merge paragraphs, Google Translate tends to work better when it has more context.

Select Translate Book as shown in the video. Translate into English (or - hey - language of your choice! Sky's the limit). You can also use different translation programs if you'd like, the default is Google.

You should select "Output" at the top right after this is complete.

It will create a separate epub in your library, tagged as "Translation."

Step 5: Read it and have fun! It's a fun read!

I set up my formatting this way because I want to read a Polish paragraph, then an English paragraph, but you can also set it up to be side-by-side (left page in Polish, right page in English), or even hide the original text if you're not interested and just want the translation.

The days of manually copying-pasting into Google translate are over! Thanks again to Noels for sharing this method in the Discord.

Now, this translation will NOT be 100% perfect - this is a Sapkowski novel after all; humans have difficult translating him, and this is only a machine. I wrote a Reddit post about some caveats to this desperate method of translation, and some silliness I specifically encountered with this book (light spoilers, I mention a couple of characters and settings, but no plot points).

My rule of thumb for when the translation is weird: Pay attention to the context. It is usually not too hard to figure out what the translation meant. If you have real trouble understanding it, or are just curious, Google the Polish phrase that it seems to be hitching on. Make use of Reverso Context, Reddit (r/learnpolish), and Polish learning forums.

Oh, and make sure to watch out for "grasshoppers" ;)

Finally, I recommend you also support the official English translation when it does come out; if not to compare translations, to show Orbit-Gollancz that English readers do want more translations (and ideally we'd like them sooner rather than later).

Good luck on the path ~ Powodzenia na szlaku ~

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YouTube Downloads through VLC: Step by Step

[EDIT: I've been receiving reports for some time now that this method no longer works. I suspect something about the switch to YouTube Music as a separate app, and/or YouTube's ongoing attempts to force Chrome use, broke the compatibility with the Github version of youtube.luac -- I haven't managed to look into whether there's an updated working version out there yet. Sorry!]

So this guide to easily downloading off YouTube is super helpful, but there's enough important information hidden in the reblogs that (with the permission of OP @queriesntheories ) I'm doing a more step-by-step version.

Please note: these downloads will be in YouTube quality. My test video download is coming through at 360p, even though the video I'm starting from is set to 720p. They're legible, but they won't look great on a TV. For high visual quality, you'll want to seek out other methods.

This guide is written for Windows 10, since that's what I can test on. It's been tested on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge (which is a Chromium browser, so the method should work in other Chromium browsers too). So far, I haven't tracked down a way to use this download method on mobile.

BASIC KNOWLEDGE:

I'll try to make this pretty beginner-friendly, but I am going to assume that you know how to right-click, double-click, navigate right-click menus, click-and-drag, use keyboard shortcuts that are given to you (for example, how to use Ctrl+A), and get the URL for any YouTube video you want to download.

You'll also need to download and install one or more programs off the internet using .exe files, if you don't have these programs already. Please make sure you know how to use your firewall and antivirus to keep your computer safe, and google any names you don't recognize before allowing permission for each file. You can also hover your mouse over each link in this post to make sure it goes where I'm saying it will go.

YOU WILL NEED:

A computer where you have admin permissions. This is usually a computer you own or have the main login on. Sadly, a shared computer like the ones at universities and libraries will not work for this.

Enough space on your computer to install the programs listed below, if you don't have them already, and some space to save your downloaded files to. The files are pretty small because of the low video quality.

A simple text editing program. Notepad is the one that usually comes with Windows. If it lets you change fonts, it's too fancy. A notepad designed specifically to edit program code without messing it up is Notepad++, which you can download here.

A web browser. I use Firefox, which you can get here. Chrome or other Chrome-based browsers should also work. I haven't tested in Safari.

An Internet connection fast enough to load YouTube. A little buffering is fine. The downloads will happen much faster than streaming the entire video, unless your internet is very slow.

VLC Media Player, which you can get here. It's a free player for music and videos, available on Windows, Android, and iOS, and it can play almost any format of video or audio file that exists. We'll be using it for one of the central steps in this process.

If you want just the audio from a YouTube video, you'll need to download the video and then use a different program to copy the audio into its own file. At the end of this post, I'll have instructions for that, using a free sound editor called Audacity.

SETUP TO DOWNLOAD:

The first time you do this, you'll need to set VLC up so it can do what you want. This is where we need Notepad and admin permissions. You shouldn't need to repeat this process unless you're reinstalling VLC.

If VLC is open, close it.

In your computer's file system (File Explorer on Windows), go to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

If you're not familiar with File Explorer, you'll start by clicking where the left side shows (C:). Then in the big main window, you'll double-click each folder that you see in the file path, in order - so in this case, when you're in C: you need to look for Program Files. (There will be two of them. You want the one without the x86 at the end.) Then inside Program Files you're looking for VideoLAN, and so forth through the whole path.

Once you're inside the "playlist" folder, you'll see a lot of files ending in .luac - they're in alphabetical order. The one you want to edit is youtube.luac which is probably at the bottom.

You can't edit youtube.luac while it's in this folder. Click and drag it out of the playlist folder to somewhere else you can find it - your desktop, for instance. Your computer will ask for admin permission to move the file. Click the "Continue" button with the blue and yellow shield.

Now that the file is moved, double-click on it. The Microsoft Store will want you to search for a program to open the .luac file type with. Don't go to the Microsoft Store, just click on the blue "More apps" below that option, and you'll get a list that should include your notepad program. Click on it and click OK.

The file that opens up will be absolutely full of gibberish-looking code. That's fine. Use Ctrl+A to select everything inside the file, then Backspace or Delete to delete it. Don't close the file yet.

In your web browser, go to https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/master/share/lua/playlist/youtube.lua

Click in the part of the Github page that has a bunch of mostly blue code in it. Use Ctrl+A to select all of that code, Ctrl+C to copy it, then come back into your empty youtube.luac file and use Ctrl+P to paste the whole chunk of code into the file.

Save the youtube.luac file (Ctrl+S or File > Save in the upper left corner of the notepad program), then close the notepad program.

Drag youtube.luac back into the folder it came from. The computer will ask for admin permission again. Give it permission.

Now you can close Github and Notepad. You're ready to start downloading!

HOW TO DOWNLOAD:

First, get your YouTube link. It should look something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123DEF45 If it's longer, you can delete any extra stuff after that first set of letters and numbers, but you don't have to.

Now open VLC. Go to Media > Open Network Stream and paste your YouTube link into the box that comes up. Click Play. Wait until the video starts to play, then you can pause it if you want so it's not distracting you during the next part.

(If nothing happens, you probably forgot to put youtube.luac back. coughs)

In VLC, go to Tools > Codec Information. At the bottom of the pop-up box you'll see a long string of gibberish in a box labeled Location. Click in the Location box. It won't look like it clicked properly, but when you press Ctrl+A, it should select all. Use Ctrl+C to copy it.

In your web browser, paste the entire string of gibberish and hit Enter. Your same YouTube video should come up, but without any of the YouTube interface around it. This is where the video actually lives on YouTube's servers. YouTube really, really doesn't like to show this address to humans, which is why we needed VLC to be like "hi I'm just a little video player" and get it for us.

Because, if you're looking at the place where the video actually lives, you can just right-click-download it, and YouTube can't stop you.

Right-click on your video. Choose "Save Video As". Choose where to save it to - I use my computer's built-in Music or Videos folders.

Give it a name other than "videoplayback" so you can tell it apart from your other downloads.

The "Save As Type" dropdown under the Name field will probably default to MP4. This is a good versatile video format that most video players can read. If you need a different format, you can convert the download later. (That's a whole other post topic.)

Click Save, and your video will start downloading! It may take a few minutes to fully download, depending on your video length and internet speed. Once the download finishes, congratulations! You have successfully downloaded a YouTube video!

If you'd like to convert your video into a (usually smaller) audio file, so you can put it on a music player, it's time to install and set up Audacity.

INSTALLING AUDACITY (first time setup for audio file conversion):

You can get Audacity here. If you're following along on Windows 10, choose the "64-bit installer (recommended)". Run the installer, but don't open Audacity at the end, or if it does open, close it again.

On that same Audacity download page, scroll down past the installers to the "Additional resources". You'll see a box with a "Link to FFmpeg library". This is where you'll get the add-on program that will let Audacity open your downloaded YouTube video, so you can tell it to make an audio-only file. The link will take you to this page on the Audacity support wiki, which will always have the most up-to-date information on how to install the file you need here.

From that wiki page, follow the link to the actual FFmpeg library. If you're not using an adblocker, be careful not to click on any of the ads showing you download buttons. The link you want is bold blue text under "FFmpeg Installer for Audacity 3.2 and later", and looks something like this: "FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86.exe". Download and install it. Without this, Audacity won't be able to open MP4 files downloaded from YouTube.

CONVERTING TO AUDIO:

Make sure you know where to find your downloaded MP4 video file. This file won't go away when you "convert" it - you'll just be copying the audio into a different file.

Open up Audacity.

Go to File > Open and choose your video file.

You'll get one of those soundwave file displays you see in recording booths and so forth. Audacity is a good solid choice if you want to teach yourself to edit soundwave files, but that's not what we're here for right now.

Go to File > Export Audio. The File Name will populate to match the video's filename, but you can edit it if you want.

Click the Browse button next to the Folder box, and choose where to save your new audio file to. I use my computer's Music folder.

You can click on the Format dropdown and choose an audio file type. If you're not sure which one you want, MP3 is the most common and versatile.

If you'd like your music player to know the artist, album, and so forth for your audio track, you can edit that later in File Manager, or you can put the information in with the Edit Metadata button here. You can leave any of the slots blank, for instance if you don't have a track number because it's a YouTube video.

Once everything is set up, click Export, and your new audio file will be created. Go forth and listen!

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Operation 141: The Family Business

FT: TF141 x gn!reader - Mafia AU

Warnings: mafia themes, kidnapping/abduction, obsessive behaviors, please let me know if anything else should be here!🙏

A/N: In a decaying warehouse, you find yourself trapped and terrified as Devon’s obsession spirals into madness. In this gripping installment, the line between sanity and madness blurs as you fight for survival against a relentless fate.

Read Part 1 Read Part 2 Read Part 3 Read Part 5 Read Part 6 Read Part 7 Read Part 8 Read Part 9 Read Part 10

Part 4: Clues Unseen

The warehouse was a cavernous, decaying relic from another time. Its vast interior was cloaked in darkness, interrupted only by beams of pale moonlight filtering through shattered windows high above. Dust hung thick in the air, stirring with each of Devon’s agitated steps. His boots scraped across the cold concrete, the sound echoing in the silence like a death knell.

Your heart pounded in your chest, each beat loud in your ears as you huddled in a corner, knees drawn tightly to your chest. The damp chill of the floor seeped through your clothes, but the terror gripping you from within was far colder. The flickering remnants of a single, exposed bulb swung lazily overhead, casting jagged shadows that stretched and twisted like the bars of a prison.

Devon, the man you had once passed without a second glance at the bar, now stalked the space between the walls of your captivity. His face was gaunt, haunted by an obsession you hadn't seen—couldn’t have seen—until it was too late. He muttered to himself as he paced, his voice rising and falling like the tide, but each word slithered into your skin, wrapping tighter and tighter around your fear.

"You’ll see," he hissed, his eyes wild as they flicked toward you, though you avoided his gaze. "They don’t care like I do. None of them do." His hand jerked in a wide, erratic gesture toward the empty space, as if your friends were there, as if their absence confirmed everything he believed. "You and I are meant to be together!"

His voice cracked on the last word, a twisted mix of pleading and menace. It was the sound of someone who had long ago slipped past the edge of sanity, and now, only desperation remained. He stopped pacing, his breath coming in shallow bursts, his eyes narrowing as he stared at you.

Curled up in the corner, your body trembled uncontrollably. The taste of salt stung your lips as bitter tears slid down your cheeks, but you made no effort to wipe them away. You were too afraid to move, too terrified that even the slightest motion would provoke him, shatter the thin barrier between you and whatever madness lay inside him.

Your thoughts spiraled, clinging to anything that could pull you out of this nightmare. The sounds of the bar, the low murmur of voices, the clinking of glasses, and the warmth of laughter played in your mind. You could almost hear it, the echoes of your life before this nightmare, of safety. Soap cracking another joke at Ghost's expense, Price offering his gruff words of wisdom, Gaz shooting you a knowing grin from across the bar. They were so close, just on the other side of this living nightmare.

But now, there was only Devon, and his delusions.

"You don’t get it, do you?" His voice dropped to a whisper, almost tender, as he moved closer, crouching in front of you. His hand reached out, fingers brushing against your arm, and you flinched, shrinking away from his touch. His eyes darkened at that, and his grip tightened, bruising. "You’ll learn. I’ll make you understand. I’m all you need. No one else will come for you."

His words sent fresh waves of panic through you, the reality of your situation crashing down like a tidal wave. You were alone in this rotting tomb he trapped you in, far from the safety of your world, and the people you had relied on—people who might not even know you were gone yet. You closed your eyes, desperately trying to block out Devon’s face, his voice, the reality that was becoming harder to escape.

Meanwhile, outside, the world moved on. But for you, time had warped into an endless loop of fear and survival.

Devon rose to his feet, satisfied, for now, that his twisted words had sunk in. He resumed his pacing, mumbling to himself about destiny, about fate, while your mind raced in circles, searching for some escape, any escape.

Every creak in the warehouse felt like a scream in your ears. Every shuffle of his boots across the floor was a reminder that no matter how far gone Devon was, he was real. The iron door that sealed you inside this forgotten place was real. The chains that bound you here, though invisible, were real.

You couldn’t stop the tears now. You couldn’t stop the fear that kept you frozen in place. All you could do was hope—hope that somewhere out there, someone had noticed you were missing. Hope that your friends, the ones who had become your family, had already begun to search.

And somewhere, deep down, hope that they were close enough to save you before it was too late.

Read Part 5

In the tense atmosphere of the 141’s HQ, determination ignites as Ghost uncovers a vital clue about your captor. With every second ticking away, the team gears up for a relentless search through the city’s shadows, driven by a promise to bring you home. As they navigate a web of danger and deception, will they uncover the truth in time, or will the darkness consume you both?

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