#Also I don't have that much battery... I have my laptop but no wifi there

[marciliedonato]

The weather is absolutely impossible. Yesterday it destroyed my new umbrella i had to walk to the hotel from class 15 minutes in the pouring rain no umbrella, now I have to get to the train station it starts raining really heavily like flood material raining everything is completely covered in water like a lake really deep puddles my boot is completely filled with water I'm only dry from the waist up bc the rain is coming from all sides and the wind is really strong and now I get here worried I wasn't gonna make it in time bc the weather made it impossible to walk and my bags were insanely heavy and were really straining my legs and my train is AN HOUR late and in the morning it was apparently over 2h so now I'm fucking stuck here and my boot is filled with water this is such bullshit. I fucking hate winter

[helplesslypurple77]

Day 3-Threesome-Chrollo/Reader/HIisoka

Notes:  i've actually never written Chrollo, i hope this doesn't turn out ooc. Something about him is so vague, he's difficult to write, lol. Also I looked up poker hands for your welcome. I play poker with my family sometimes, but we prefer blackjack for whatever reason lol. Also i've never played the strip variety lol

It was raining. Drops fell through the jagged holes in the ceiling of the abandoned building, wetting the floor in uneven patches. It was dusk, a gloomy gray light cut with the golden candlelight coming from the candles scattered across the floor. You wished your colleagues had shelled out for a nice hotel. Heck, you would take a motel, anything with four walls, a roof, and wifi. But alas, the members of the Phantom troupe who were assigned to find shelter were the most dramatic ones(Chrollo, Feitan, and Nobunaga) and not any of the ones with common sense. 

And so here you were, hunched over your laptop. Gloomily watching the battery slowly tick down the hours until you would need to charge it at a net cafe, and occasionally moving to dodge raindrops. The sound of your fingers hitting the keys fills the large cavernous room, interspersed with the turning of pages and the occasional fluttering of cards to the ground.

There wasn't much to do, in the random abandoned lot the spiders had decided to hunker down in. You could sleep, you supposed. But the only other two people occupying the room would probably sabotage that. You would wake up with clown makeup(the actual clown makeup, not the stuff Hisoka wore) and a card tower balancing precariously on your stomach. And you would know, it had happened before. Your only other option was taking the forty-minute trek into town. Through the rain, which actually sounded more unpleasant than the clown makeup. At least that stuff came off. 

The sounds of Hisoka’s cards falling to the ground punctuate the formerly peaceful silence, and you sigh, watching your battery move to ten percent. Maybe it would take pity on you and that ten percent would last the rest of the night. A card wizzes by your ear. You don't even flinch.

“I'm busy, Hisoka.” You say, not even turning. He's probably where he was when the rest of the phantom troupe members left earlier, sitting cross-legged on the rock floor, making card towers.

“You don't look busy~” Hisoka says, from behind you. Another card lands beside you, this one a foot away from your thigh. You lay stretched out on the floor, propped up uncomfortably on your arms, occasionally typing on your computer. Every couple of minutes you obsessively switched positions. You got antsy after sitting for too long. 

“I'm working.” You say in return. Hisoka hums, and you imagine him tilting his head in confusion like a cat. Actually, you're watching a show. Muted with subtitles, because you forgot your headphones and you don't want to venture into the storm to get them. But that's none of his business.

Your battery ticks down to seven percent. Chrollo, sitting dramatically up on a rock at the front of the building, turns a page of his book. Another card wizzes by you, this one hitting an inch or two away from your computer keypad. You roll your eyes.

“Stop that.” You say, annoyance leaking into your voice. Hisoka chuckles. 

“But I'm bored~” He whines, sounding closer than before. You roll your eyes.

“Build another card tower.” 

“I'd rather not,” Hisoka returns, and another card flies by, this one dangerously close to your computer screen. “Bothering you is much more entertaining.”

“Careful!” You grumble. Your computer battery blinks, five percent taunting you. “If you break my computer you have to buy me a new one.”

Hisoka's response comes in the form of another card, this one landing a centimeter from your keyboard. Fed up you turn, glaring at the clown sitting behind you.

“Fuck you Hisoka,” You grumble, “just let me waste the rest of my battery in peace.”

He doesn't respond, just smiles at you. You hate to admit you find him attractive. He’s definitely moved closer and now sits perched above you on a rock, leaning back casually, hands lazily flicking cards about the hideout. 

You wished desperately that you had just taken a normal job, maybe as a receptionist or a waitress, and not decided to join the spiders of all things. You blamed it on your terrible taste in men. And your sister's ex-boyfriend. Because maybe, after your sister had come crying to you, telling you that John had cheated, you had immediately gone to beat him up. You had ended up beating him up pretty bad and went home and that was the end of it. 

Until you woke up the next morning, saw the spiders sitting in your living room, and dropped your coffee. After you cleaned up the mess, they informed you in various volumes, that because you had defeated one of their members you had to become a member. You had initially declined, and then you saw certain handsome men in spirit Halloween costumes and you folded like wet paper. So here you are, kind of deeply regretting your rash decisions. 

Chrollo turns another page. Water drips from the ceiling and hits your nose. You jerk back, turning back to your computer. Which is dead. Or course.

Grumbling, you slam the computer closed and lay back on the ground, letting the stone cool you down, and listening to the rain as it hits the building around you. It's peaceful, the smell of fresh rain, intermixed slightly with two different types of cologne and the faint smell of mildew. The rain calms you down from your annoyance, the cold sinking into your skin and putting a damper on your annoyance.

 If only you could find it in yourself to truly hate Hisoka. He was a nuisance, constantly inconveniencing you on a daily basis, and jokingly flirting with you because he knew it annoyed you. And you would get so fed up and upset and then he would smirk and you would see his stupid handsome face and you just couldn't bring yourself to truly hate him. 

His joke flirting actually kind of hurts you, because you know he's only doing it as a joke. You know he doesn't actually think you're attractive. Neither does Chrollo, now that you think about it, but at least he didn't give you false hope. He was straightforward in his dismissiveness. 

You sigh, and turn onto your side, already antsy. A breeze gusts across your face. A warm breeze.

The smell of flowers and blood hits your nose. How odd. 

You knew there were patches of greenery outside of the building, and there were probably a few inside as well, but blood? As far as you knew no one had died here yet. You sniff harder, your brow furrowed in confusion. And then a hand lands on your side. Your eyes fly open in shock, and Hisoka grins at you from his position mirroring you on the floor, about a foot away. You shriek in shock, as Hisokas hand strokes up and down your waist and hips. 

“You're loud.” He says, his mouth curving in a smirk. It sounds suggestive, but everything he says sounds suggestive. Unfortunately, he looks even more handsome up close. 

“You scared the crap out of me,” You grumble. “The hell Hisoka.”

“Oops, sorry.” He says. He doesn't look sorry and his hand is still stroking your side as you lie side by side on the cold stone of the floor. You hate how much that hand makes your stomach flutter. Rolling over you purposely trying to ram him onto his back. Maybe his stupid hair will get crushed. 

But alas, his body is a brick wall, and of course you only succeed in crushing your front into his muscled chest. Your face flushes, hidden where it is in his pecs, and you try to pull away. But an iron arm is holding you against him. Against all reason, you can hear his heart beating evenly in his chest. Your own skips around, propped up by the butterflies in your stomach. You wiggle, trying to escape but only managing to free your arms from his iron embrace. 

“My my, how eager.” Hisoka coos, probably about to say something equal parts annoying and mortifying. “You could have just asked.”

You dig your fingernails into his shoulders, trying to unsuccessfully pry yourself away from his body. Hisoka only chuckles.

“Fuck you,” You say against his chest. 

“Mm, maybe later.” Hisoka hums. You sigh.

“Chrollo? Your subordinate is suffocating me.” You grumble. You can't see him from here, but you assume he's still sitting on his big boss rock. He chuckles, and you hear a page turn.

“Let her go, Hisoka.” He says, sounding way too amused for your liking. Hisoka obliges, but not before his hand finds its way onto your ass. You kick his leg, and hold back the urge to ask him to do it again. Chrollo has put his book down, and is now watching the two of you curiously, illuminated by the candle sitting a few inches from his weird leather coat. Why both of the men in the room with you dress like absolute weirdos, you’ll never know. 

“You just let me squirm for a while, huh.” You grumble at him. He smiles

“You seemed like you were enjoying it, I didn't want to interrupt.” He replies, the candlelight flicking on the pale skin of his abs. You always wondered why he chose a leather jacket without a shirt, but you weren't going to ask and embarrassed yourself. He's snarky tonight for some reason. 

You flush, hiding it with a glare. 

“I was not enjoying anything!” You say, at the same time Hisoka unhelpfully chimes in with, “aww, don't be jealous Chrollo.”

You shoot Hisoka a weird look, but Chrollo only laughs. The sound echoes in the like twenty feet of space between you and Hisoka, and Chrollo on his big boss rock.

“Stop looming over us like that.” You say, flopping into a cross-legged position across from Hisoka. He's pulled himself up from the ground and is shuffling his cards in his hand. “If you're gonna talk you have to come down.”

Chrollo laughs. “Sure dear.” He says, and you watch him jump gracefully down from his perch and join the two of you on the ground in a little circle. 

Hisoka hums quietly, playing some weird nonsensical card game. Chrollo has opened his book again. You're the only one with nothing to do. 

“What are you reading anyway?” You ask the man beside you. Chrollo, sitting a foot away from you, looks up. 

“The Divine Comedy.” He says, flipping the heavy cover to show you. You roll your eyes so far back into your head they just might get stuck there. 

“How dull,” Hisoka says, and for once, you find yourself in complete agreement. 

“I shouldn't have asked, huh.” You mutter, settling back against a rock with a sigh. Chrollo raises an eyebrow.

“I take it you aren't a fan?” He asks, closing Dantes' glorified fanfic and placing it beside him. You roll your eyes with a sigh.

“Too long. Boring. Would rather read Crime and Punishment, at least that has a romance plotline.” You say, picking dirt from under your nails. “Do you even read, Hisoka?”

“Of course,” Hisoka replies, gathering all of his cards from their nonsensical placements. Cautiously, but too curious for your own good, you raise an eyebrow. He smiles at your silence, shuffling the cards in his hands. “Aren't you curious?”

“No,” You lie, watching him shuffle. You are curious, but for once you decide to hold your tongue.

Hisoka starts dealing three piles of cards. You eye him suspiciously.

“What are we playing?” You ask cautiously. It's always a good idea to air on the side of caution with Hisoka. The man just oozes sketchy vibes.

“Strip poker,” Hisoka replies. Your mouth drops open.

“Hell no.” You say. Hisoka pouts, looking almost harmless. Almost.

“You scared?”

“Fuck you.” You return. “No way in hell am I betting against you.”

It seems like an extremely unwise idea to play any games that have anything at all to do with lying or gambling against Hisoka of all people. You were totally going to lose. 

Hisoka tilts his head. “I'm disappointed by your cowardness” He coos, setting his deck of cards on the ground gingerly. “You're just as dull as him.”

He's goading you. You know it, you can feel the smart voice in your brain telling you to ignore him and turn around. But he gets you.

“Fine, whatever.” You say, picking up your cards with a sigh. “This is a terrible idea.”

Out of the corner of your vision, you see Chrollo also pick up his cards. You raise your eyebrows.

“You're joining us in this tomfoolery?” You ask, genuinely pretty surprised. Chrollo smiles. 

“Seems fun,” he says, a faint light behind his eyes that you can't place. You sigh, watching as Hisoka finishes dealing.

“This kind of thing seems pretty on brand for him,” You say, gesturing at Hisoka. “But you Chrollo?”

Hisoka makes a fake offended noise, and you roll your eyes. Chrollo simply smiles.

“Maybe I have ulterior motives,” He says. Turning his attention to Hisoka, he continues, “Five card draw?”

You catch on to that sentence, but you hurriedly move along when Hisoka nods.

“Yes, the person with the lowest hand gets to strip,” he says. 

Maybe you're imagining it, but you swear he's just looking at you when he says that last bit. Perhaps a prelude of things to come. You sigh, taking a look at your cards. This is going to be a long night.

○○○

“Gimme three cards,” You say, fiddling with your necklace. Hisoka takes a large swig of beer and tosses three cards your way with a grin. So far, nothing too bad has happened. Hisoka had lost the first round, betting on nothing while you escaped with two pairs and Chrollo won with three of a kind. Hisoka had taken off one arm badly, the other one still sitting unevenly on his arm.

You had lost the next round, and taken off your earrings.

 Chrollo had followed with two losses, losing his weird earrings that looked like Christmas tree ornaments, and the useless belt hanging from his coat. You had just lost a round, taking off your white kitten heels. 

So far you were sitting pretty, although you were wearing the least of the two men, with a zip-up hoodie over a sky-blue tank top and jeans. So far Hisoka was the one with the least losses, but you doubted anyone was surprised about that anyway. If you were ever gonna go to Vegas you would take Hisoka with you, and the two of you would be walking out bathing in ritches. 

You have a good hand this round. A straight is pretty hard to beat, and even if you didn't win you would probably get at least second. Privately, you hoped Hisoka would take off his other armband. It was starting to annoy you. 

“Four cards please Hisoka,” Chrollo asks. You hide your grin behind your cards. You can taste victory on your tongue, along with cheap beer. Hisoka trades out two cards, grinning inscrutable in your direction.

“You have a good hand, right Name?” He asks, crumpling up his empty beer can and tossing into the small pile the three of you had been adding two. You roll your eyes.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don't.” You say, holding your cards reflexively against your chest. “I'm not gonna tell you.”

Hisoka carries on, smiling a little too much to be friendly. 

“Your face, although very pretty, tells me everything I need to know.” He coos, leaning towards you with a smile. “You really should work on that poker face.”

You roll your eyes. Hisoka just smiles. Chrollo ignores both of you. 

“Done?” You ask. “Let's reveal our hands already.”

Hisoka is just trying to shake you up, it's obvious. It's all the man does for god's sake. 

“Turn on three.” Chrollo says. Your eyes come to him, catching on the small drinking flush on his cheekbones. His hair is drooping from its gelled place, a few strands falling over his forehead. Hisoka, on your other side, also looks a little unhinged. More than usual anyway, with a feral light in his eyes. He never looks away from you, even as Chrollo speaks.

“One, two, three.”

The three of you flip your cards and your heart sinks. Your straight is the lowest hand on the table. Hisoka smirks, a royal flush sitting proudly in front of him. Chrollo has four of a kind. Your jaw drops in disbelief. The odds of that are absolutely insane.

“What the hell,” You say in shock. “I cant fucking believe it. I thought I was set.”

Chrollo chuckles quietly. “You must have gotten unlucky my dear.” He says, taking a small sip of beer. Hisoka smiles.

“Don't be too sad Name.” He says, gathering the cards back into his hand. “Now put on a show for us, okay?”

You roll your eyes, shrugging your sweatshirt off and onto the pile of your already discarded clothes.

“That's good enough for you, creep?” You ask, rolling your eyes again. You've been doing that a lot lately.

“I suppose it'll do for now,” Hisoka sighs, dealing the cards out again. Chrollo chuckles. 

“A rather lacking show, don't you think?” he says, picking up his cards. You shoot him a confused look.

“Your acting weird today, Chrollo.” You say, eyeing your hand. Nothing good. 

“Am i?” Chrollo says vaguely. “Whatever you say dear. Another beer, Hisoka.”

Hisoka chuckles, lobbing a beer at Chrollo, who catches it in his free hand.

Hisoka loses the next few rounds, discarding his arm band and both of his shoes. Chrollo then has to discard a few of his weird bobbles and chains, and then his shoes. You're all dangerously close to losing an important piece of clothing now. The tension in the room is rising, along with the intoxication level. 

You sigh, feeling not drunk but pleasantly buzzed. You can tell Hisoka and Chrollo feel the same. 

And then it happens. You lose the next round. 

Staring sadly at the shitty hand in front of you, you calculate your options.

You can take your shirt off, leaving you in your bra, pants and underwear. Or you could take your pants off. 

“Come on now, move along.” Hisoka coos, words somehow sounding more suggestive than normal. You roll your eyes, pulling your shirt over your head and tossing it into the pile of your discarded clothes with a frown. You hope they assume the flush of your cheeks is from alcohol.

Chrollo coughs a little, tossing Hisoka his hand and averting his eyes almost politely. Hisoka just stares shamelessly, at your boobs, cupped in your light pink lacy bra. You flush.

“Stop staring, creep.” You toss your cards his way. His smirks, dealing three hands again.

Hisoka loses the next round. You giggle, shouting payback until he takes off his shirt. You swear you're not looking at his chest or anything. Chrollo loses his jacket next, and you swear the universe is taunting you as you sit there, almost bare next too to really attractive shirtless men. 

You lose the next round, leaving you on the cold stone floor in your matching underwear and bra, trying to hide your embarrassment. 

The stone is cold, but it doesn't nothing to cool the heat you feel running through your veins, gathering in your gut as Hisokas pale hand deals out the fateful cards. 

The air is filled with an odd tension, something simmering under the surface. For once, everyone is silent, the only sound is the cards hitting the floor crisply. You find yourself mesmerized by the movement, the muscles of Hisokas arms as they ripple, as the cards hit the floor. You kinda wanna kiss his muscled arms.

“See something you like?” Hisoka coos. You flinch, looking in the opposite direction. It isn't any better, now all you can see is Chrollos bare chest. You choose to look down at your cards. The room sinks into silence again, Chrollos pants rustling as he shifts positions slightly, flicking three cards down onto the ground.

You choose to trade two, hoping for a full house. And miraculously, you actually get it. Hope fills your chest as Hisoka and Chrollo trade their cards. Maybe you're safe after all. 

Candlelight flickers, the moonlight pouring in through the large windows onto the three of you, sitting in your circle, clothes littered around you. Your body thrums with head and suppressed arousal, and your nipples stand in the cold night air. You wonder if they think you're pretty. You wish they did. A breeze blows through the building and you shiver. 

“Reveal your hands on three.” Chrollo says, his voice hushed. Hisoka nods, for once not saying anything. 

“One,” Chrollo counts. Hisoka shifts, hands rearranging his baggy pants. His eyes burn into yours, the rare yellow color clouded with something you can't place. He looks feral, his hair falling slightly from its usual style,a  few strands brushing his forehead and the tips of his ears. You feel breathless.

“Two,” Chrollo says. You jerk your eyes away from Hisoka, looking at Chrollo. It's not much better over there, but at least he isn't looking at you. Eye contact is too much for your sanity. He's just as strong as Hisoka, but his build is more lean. While Hisokas shoulders taper into his small waist, Chrollo's body is more of a straight line. You resist the urge to stroke down his visible abs. The air feels hot suddenly, as Chrolllo opens his mouth one final time.

“Three.”

Time seems to slow down, as each person reveals their hand. A full house, sitting in front of your bare knees. 

A straight flush, sitting in front of Chrollo.

And a royal flush, sitting in front of Hisoka. 

Time seems to still for a moment as each person takes stock of the hands, takes stock of who lost. And then they turn to you. 

“I don't have anything left.” You say, your voice pitched soft. 

“You sure?” Hisoka coos, sliding along the floor slowly. Closing in on you. You laugh nervously, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear, trying to remain nonchalant.

“Was this all a ploy to get me naked?” You joke, avoiding eye contact. Hisoka chuckles. Chrollo remains silent. You can feel their eyes on you, tracing your body, catching on the lace hiding your privates from view. 

“Wasn't it obvious?” Chrollo says, a slight tremor in his voice. Your jaw drops open. 

“What are you talking about?” You ask. The tension still lingers in the air as you look up at Chrollo, taking in his appearance. He looks slightly disheveled, an almost invisible flush sitting high on his cheekbones, a flush on his neck. You trace it down until it disappears, and then find your eyes dropping down farther and farther until they land on the bulge in his loose pants. You swallow your shock.

“What,” You start, and then jump a little as a warm clawed hand traces your shoulder. Hisoka has crept behind you, his bare chest a few inches from your back, his hands tracing your shoulders. He bends down, and pressing a light kiss to your neck.

“What's gotten into you guys,” You ask, voice shaking as Chrollo moves forward, crouching in front of your body. His hands stroke up and down your legs, stopping just shy of your thighs. Hisoka chuckles in your ear.

“You're quite naive, you know.” He coos, one hand reaching down to flick the clasp of your bra. It comes apart seamlessly, and Hisokas hands tease the straps, the only thing shielding your boobs from hungry fingers and eyes. 

“He's so obvious, too.” Chrollo remarks, fairly casual as he presses a kiss high on your thigh. You muffle a whimper, biting your lip. He was quite physical with you. But you always brushed that off as Hisoka being Hisoka, and nothing more. Maybe you were a bit too hard on yourself.

“Why didn't you just ask,” You whimper, as Hisokas teeth scrape your neck. He leaves a hickey under your ear. 

“Already tried that.” Hisoka hums. Chrollo chuckles, hands smoothing over the delicate skin of your thighs.

“You're always so eager to reject me,” Hisoka teases, pulling your bra off with a flourish. “So mean.”

His hands whined around, nails scratching your nipples as your boobs are exposed to the cold air. 

You whimper, back arching and hands scrambling to grab something, anything. You land on Chrollo’s hair, yanking it a bit as Hisoka teases your nipples. Arousal is running through your body, and you accidentally shove Chrollo’s face into your thigh as one clawed hand grips your hair, pulling your head back.

Chrollo’s hands grip your hips, studying himself as your hands lessen slightly, allowing him to pull away from your thigh. His hair is a mess, black strands knotted in your hands. He looks a bit desperate. 

“Look at you,” Hisoka coos, clawed hand tracing slowly between your boobs, tracing up the pulse point of your neck, thumb smoothing over your lips.

“So pretty and eager for us.” 

You grumble, trying to protest, but HIsoka silences that by shoving two fingers down your throat. You give in, sucking with a whimper.

“She likes that,” Chrollo says, tossing the words upwards at the clown behind you. “She's soaked through her panties.”

You whimper in mortification, as shamefully your pussy pulses with heat. Chrollo's hands work your underwear down, pulling them off your legs and bearing your wet pussy to the cold air and Chrollo's gaze. 

The cold air hits your clit and you tense up, about to protest. And then he slips two fingers inside of you.

It's embarrassing how easy they go in, the squelch that echoes in the air. Chrollo hums in appreciation.

“She's so pretty like this.” He says, fingers fucking you open gently. You whimper in response. Hisoka chuckles in agreement.

“Indeed,” He says, the words almost a moan. “Irresistible.”

His fingers fall from your mouth, a trail of spit following as he pulls away. He pinches a nipple, drawing a moan out of your throat. 

“Wait,” You murmur, reaching back to grip Hisokas vibrant red hair. “Want you to fuck me.”

They both pause, tension hanging in the air as you tremble, your pussy throbbing. Chrollo pulls his fingers from you, the sound echoing in the silence. 

And then, your world spins. You're on your hands and knees, the stone digging into you. The cold leaks into your skin, not able to dampen the fire of arousal running through your body.

“Fuck thats hot,” You groan, looking up at Hisoka, who kneels before you. He chuckles, hand caressing your blissed out face. 

“You're a little whore, aren't you.” He purrs, gripping the side of your face. You get the full view from here, able to take in his pale abs, the large bulge in his pants, and his disheveled appearance. He looks radiant.

“Mmm,” You murmur, not agreeing or disagreeing. 

“Condoms?” Chrollo asks from behind you, hands smoothing over your bare ass. You giggle. How gentlemanly, but at this moment all you want is to be fucked out of your mind. 

“Dont care,” You grunt, taking a moment to suck Hisokas thumb. His pornographic moan is a reward. “You guys clean?”

“Yes,” Chrollo says, and you hear the clink of a belt behind you. You whimper, your pussy throbbing desperately. Hisoka chuckles.

“Yes,” he coos, and you watch eagerly as he pulls himself out of his pants. “Now put that pretty mouth to use.”

You whimper, obliging him and wrapping your lips around the tip of his cock. He's big, thick, stretching your throat out as you do your best to take him in as deep as you can. He winds a clawed hand in your hair, gripping your head and pushing you farther onto him. Your so distracted you forget about Chrollo, until he abruptly shoves his cock into you pussy.

Your back arches in response, a gargled moan muffled by Hisokas cock shoved down your throat. Hisoka yanks your hair and you moan. 

“She liked that,” Chrollo grunts, his voice as controlled as ever. If you pay close attention you can hear a roughness in his voice, a sign that hes trying to disguise how affected he really is. But your too busy moaning like a whore to pay close attention.

“Did she?” Hisoka grunts, his breath coming in ragged pants as he grips your head, fucking your throat like a toy. “You like being fucked like a whore Name?”

“Oh god yes!” you moan, back arching. You can feel an orgasm on the horizon, looming as you get controlled from both ends. 

Chrollo winds a hand around, rubbing your clit with his thumb.

“Gonna cum,” You moan shakily, hands scrabbling at the stone ground. Hisoka chuckles dangerously, hips stuttering into your mouth.

“Already?” He almost laughs, sweat wetting his hairline. Chrollo speeds up, timing his thrusts with Hisoka. They drive you insane. 

“Can i cum?” You beg. Chrollo lands a slap on your ass and you clench around him.

“Hmm, I don't know.” Hisoka teases. “Should we?”

Chrollo chuckles roughly, hips stuttering slightly in between steady thrusts. 

“I think she deserves it.” He says. “She’s been so good.”

You whimper, holding back your orgasm as they speak over you. It's arousing, and you hate that. Hisoka chuckles, gripping the back of your head and abruptly shoving you deep onto his cock.

“Fine then,” He teases, “go ahead. Cum.”

You obey, your orgasm overwhelming you. Stars bounce in your vision, your body trembling as you cry their names and nonsensical words onto Hisoka’s cock. 

Faintly, you hear groans, and Hisioka cums down your throat, the salty liquid flowing down your throat in spurts. You do your best to swallow it all, orgasm still hitting you as Chrollo cums into your poor pussy. 

When your orgasm finally subsides, you find yourself laying on your back between them, cum dripping from your abused pussy. You sigh.

“Where am i supposed to clean up?” You ask, voice still raspy from moaning. Hisoka chuckles, running a hand through your messy hair.

“Oh dear,” He purrs. “Did you think we were done with you?”

You look at them, watching as arousal floods their bodies, as that light comes back into their eyes, and sigh.

Its going to be a long, long night. 

....

Endnotes: hope you enjoyed it, it's like three am and i'm gonna put this up and go to beddddd. Oh also you might have noticed that the Kinktober list changes. If you have anything you're particularly excited about feel free to dm me and i'll make sure to keep it in!! Feel free to leave a comment <3

[gougarfem]

Can I ask what dumbphone you got? What was your average daily screen time before getting one? Did you keep your old smartphone to switch back and forth or completely get rid of it?

Thanks!! I'm considering a switch too.

i have a doro 7030. i chose this specifically because it runs whatsapp in addition to regular calls and texts, so i can stay in contact with friends who live abroad or primarily use wifi (sms messages can get expensive if you don't have a good contract lol).

my average daily screentime was 11-14 hours, depending on how much i slept.

i initially kept my old smartphone for its camera, my banking app and spotify. my social media apps built up again, and i ended up migrating back over to it. i no longer have a smartphone because its battery completely died, but if you need to keep one, install an app that restricts you to the absolutely essential apps you kept it for, and only turn it on for emergencies (not every day/week). do not try to use both. our brains are programmed to get hooked on a smartphone no matter how much we try to limit it. they are deliberately addictive. (also, blue light is bad for you lol)

if i have to take a photo and send it instantly, i use someone else's smartphone. i also have a little digital camera which i take around with me to snap photos of surroundings, friends, etc. i scan college work onto my laptop with a printer (you can use public libraries for this usually if you don't have one). i use online banking on my laptop and do not bring my laptop with me when i leave the house or my room each morning. before i had a laptop i used the PCs at college or the library.

girl do it. make the switch. it genuinely will do a world of good for your mental health and social connections. you got this <33

[snarp]

I wrote this "How To Pick Out A Cheap Laptop In Early 2023" tutorial for my parents' law office; there's some task-specific stuff in there, but it may be useful for other people.

DON'T SPEND MORE THAN $500 - You can generally meet all of the guidelines below for under $400.

YOU NEED WINDOWS 10, NOT WINDOWS 11 - Avoid buying Windows 11 PCs or upgrading existing PCs to Windows 11. If a PC uses Windows 11, turn it off whenever it is not in use. As of right now (early 2023), Windows 11 is still only really intended for use in places with 100%-consistent high-speed internet access. The office's internet connection (like most places in Appalachia) can't handle this, so Windows 11 computers are likely to slow the whole network to a crawl. (There are a few things you can do to make this less of a problem, but they're not practical for the office (time-consuming, have to be re-done regularly, will stress everyone out).)

YOU NEED AN ETHERNET PORT - Since spotty wifi is a problem in a lot of places, buying a laptop with no ethernet port is a bad idea. (Also, laptops WITHOUT ethernet adapters aren't generally designed for heavy daily use - they can break easily.)

YOU NEED BOTH AN HDMI PORT AND AN SVGA PORT - The vast majority of TVs/projectors use either HDMI or SVGA ports; some recent laptops are missing one or both. This makes it very hard to, for example, give PowerPoint presentations in old courthouses.

YOU NEED A (SMALL) SSD DRIVE - Computers with SSDs (solid-state drives) can turn on and open files MUCH faster than those with HDDs (hard disc drives). SSDs have less storage space than HDDs, but that doesn't matter for the office's purposes - 256 GB is more than enough.

YOU NEED AT LEAST 8GB OF RAM - Preferably 16GB.

YOU DON'T WANT A "BUILT-IN BATTERY" - This just means "battery that can't be replaced." Laptops like this are designed to be disposable, so they always have a lot of other problems.

YOU NEED AT LEAST TWO USB-3 PORTS - Some recent laptops only have USB-C ports (the tiny ones), not the normal, rectangular ones (USB-3 and -2). USB-C-only laptops are intended as fashion accessories - they're not meant to be used for daily work, and (as above) always have a lot of other problems.

YOU WANT AN INTEL CORE i5-EQUIVALENT-OR-BETTER PROCESSOR - This isn't as big a deal as the RAM or SSD, but i3 processors slow down a lot of stuff.

YOU PROBABLY NEED A CD DRIVE - Many recent laptops don't have CD drives, but there are going to be times when you need them. (If necessary, you can buy a USB CD drive.)

BLUETOOTH ISN'T ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT - You can get a USB plugin if you need it, but you probably won't.

YOU DO NOT WANT A MACBOOK OR ANY OTHER APPLE PRODUCT - For too many reasons to list.

YOU DO NOT WANT A CHROMEBOOK - Even worse than MacBooks.

LINUX LAPTOPS ARE USUALLY FINE BUT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE THEM - You'll end up needing to install Windows 10.

[sarcasrnspasrn]

have i mentioned how my computer's haunted on blog before? well im gonna list out the hauntings of my PC

neither of the alt keys have worked for several years now (very bad for someone who regularly used adobe programs when in college lmao, but at least i could use the onscreen keyboard). they both stopped working simultaneously which makes me think there's something weird going on software-side since i highly doubt i used both of them an equal amount to the point where both of them would stop functioning at the same time. all of my other keys still work just fine

for a while the battery was expanding causing me to be unable to properly click with the mousepad, only tap to click. this was a known issue with my series of dell laptops and got solved a while back by sending it in for replacement. before i fixed it it got so bad my laptop couldn't technically shut all the way

the computer frequently forgets it can use bluetooth, wifi, or both. like. the drivers just vanish. the icons don't show up in the toolbar at all. it's fixed with a restart

internal speaker drivers have also not worked for several years now. i troubleshooted the hell out of it and it looks like the only thing that'd fix it is a fresh install of the OS. as far as im aware there's nothing wrong with the physical speakers

same with the physical camera & the camera driver not working

for a while night shift wouldn't work at all. as a result i turned it off. however for the last several months (maybe a year now?) my computer has started changing to night shift again at the time i set it to back when i had it active (10pm) unprompted. unfortunately it doesn't automatically shift out of night shift. ever. so i have to restart it to make the orange tint go away. i've just gotten used to shutting down my computer every night

this is probably more in the lines of "i need to clean dust out of my fans" but the fans are fuckin loud man

i have been meaning to do a fresh install of the OS for probably almost 3 years now. i kept not doing it because "oh i need lappytop for college" and then i'd just not do it over the break. tbh at this point i should probably just get a new laptop (like how i should get new headphones because they're reaching the point where i have to twist the wires in a specific way to hear audio anymore) but that seems like too much work

[alt-pocalypse]

Day 2

Writing this from the back of Nyxx’s SUV. I don't usually get car sick so I’ll probably be fine? Today we all met up at our agreed meeting place outside the home depot. It was a few hours to walk but I was generally pretty safe but if any of the smarter ones did notice that I was human I just thwacked ‘em with ol’ Nancy! It feels really bad killing things that used to be human like this but It’s what I have to do. Nyxx says that it’s best to remember that they’re probably in a lot of pain anyway so really we’re just putting them out of their misery. Thinking about that helps a little. In the morning, after having some breakfast and brushing my teeth, I dumped out my school bag and started packing in the things I thought we might need at our new base. My pack list is as follows:

Wifi router

Phone charger

Laptop charger

Laptop

Radio with bluetooth and CD player

Changes of clothes

Snacks

Hair spray

Eye liner

As much monster as I could cram in there

I know it sounds stupid to bring so many things that need to be plugged in but Nyxx brought the solar battery she and her family use while camping alongside a big solar panel so it's gonna be ok. I also picked up ol’ nelly from her special case in my cosplay closet. She's a real nail bat from a cosplay I never finished and there’s no zombie apocalypse weapon better than a nail bat!

Like I said, Nyxx brought a solar battery and panel but she also brought her dad’s M16 (which I don’t even know if he was legally allowed to own) which will be great for big hoards. Nyxx also brought some tents and air mattresses. Raven brought a mini fridge which was kind of a surprise to all of us, it looked really heavy and we were all impressed that they had carried it all the way to the home depot over 2 miles. They looked exhausted. They also had a map of the town, a pair of scissors to handle our hair, and their sketchbook with some art supplies.

Wood and N came last and we were all kinda worried they wouldn’t show. Neither was carrying much, Wood brought some squishmallows, some books, headphones and a hand ax. N’s bag was mostly full of monster cans with a few walkie talkies. At their side they were holding a HUGE machete. We don’t need to bother too much about first aid supplies or anything like that because Nyxx always keeps a go bag in their trunk.

Once we were all together, we all went into the home depot to conduct our very first zombie apocalypse raid. I was nervous but also excited. There was a lot more still left than expected. Once again, the zombies didn’t come for us so overall it was mostly just a chill time. We got a few base building essentials and stuff to wash our clothes but the main highlight was when Raven picked out their weapon: a power drill with an 8 inch long bit! We made some of the typical jokes but honestly it was super cool.

Tonight we’re planning on staying in Nyxx’s basement. They live in the middle of nowhere so it's a good place to hide out when we look for a more permanent spot closer to resource spots and places where we can have fun if we get antsy. Speaking of Nyxx’s place we’re pulling into the driveway right now so I gotta go, bye! Will probably post a little later once I get connected to wifi.

[selene-moonie]

How I got a macbook

The short of it is - I rekindled an old friendship about two weeks ago and while we were catching up, I mentioned that I needed a laptop since I was using my sister's own and my friend just offered me his macbook. I collected it later that day and have been using it since.

Side note: lately, I've realized that I don't need to tell stories (as in always relate the bridge of events) even if I think they're really interesting. Not really piggybacking off my last statement, this is one of my favorites to date because I wasn't even wondering about the bridge of events, I just kept telling myself that I have the laptop.

The long of it is this:

I was at the library where I frequent to do work and pull smalls (a colloquial term for making small talk, but mine personally is always entertaining conversations).

I had a meeting at 1 pm, and I had asked one of the library assistants if I could use the conference room. He assured me that I could, on the grounds that I took pictures with the animals for the conservation exhibit that was going on at the time. I agreed, obviously, and headed for the adult section.

While walking to the adult section, this guy I had blocked back in 2020 because he was high quality garbage called out to me saying, "Hi Selene," and I was like, "Hi Frank," and then I beelined for the adult section because I. Was not. Doing dis.

Y'all, I was in mild panic mode because of all the places to see this dude? The library? Literally, no one goes to this one because it sucks and is in a terrible location. I go there because there aren't a lot of people, the wifi is decent, it's really convenient for my commute and the staff members are all really nice to me. Why was he there? His sister was in charge of the animal exhibit and he was helping her.

But apparently, I was doing it because he followed me and we started talking. At first, I was like, wtf am I doing, then at some point, subconsciously, I decided we were friends again. The conversation was good and I caught him up on what I'd been doing lately since we hadn't spoken since mid-2020.

Stuff like this has been happening lately. Old, cool friends have been resurfacing, new ones have been appearing, and they all match my vibe these days.

My boss then messaged me to say that she'd be in office for the meeting, if I wanted to meet her there. I complained to my newly remade friend that it's kinda late for her to say stuff like that when I don't have enough time to make it there by one. He simply replied that he was going up on that side, so he could drive me there. Obviously I agreed because I didn't want to travel there. Good thing too because I forgot the charger and the laptop has no battery. Had I stayed, I'd have had to go back home to have the meeting anyway.

We dipped out of the library at around 12:20 pm, and while we were just catching up in the car, I told him that I'd been using my sister's laptop (ironically, he had given her that laptop). He just told me that he had a MacBook he wasn't using, so I could take it when we came back after my meeting.

I was like, "Are you fucking serious?"

He's like, "Yeah. It's not a problem. I have like two other computers."

And I was like, "Thank you so fucking much, I really appreciate that."

We continued catching up, I went to my meeting, he picked me up after, and we went to his house to get it. I've been using it since, and in fact, it's what I used to write this post.

Also, if you're wondering about what happened to the conference room... I did forget about that. When I went back to the library the following day, the library assistant did complain to me that I set him up, so we're good now.

Onto the manifesting side of things:

I just wanna say that I did get kinda desperate cuz I'd been needing a laptop for about 2 years at that point, but with my job being WFH and I didn't have enough cash for the laptop I wanted (a MacBook, obviously), I kicked my affirming into high gear.

Ya girl was not about to be waiting another six months or indefinitely for what she wanted. Especially since it was messing with my daily quality of life.

I think I was affirming for it for about a week before it showed up, but what I always made sure to do was remind myself that the lack of options in front of me did not affect the manifestation itself.

i.e. I'm gonna get it regardless of what's going on rn.

Anyways, I got it. I wasn't even thinking about what the bridge of events would have been.

Ya fave Moon Babe,

Selene 💜 🌚

[crystal-rebellion]

In 2005, I got the Thinkpad X41, looks something like this:

I don't know if it was the first laptop to have the screen spin around into a full tablet - but it was the first I had ever put my hands on. If I recall right, the X41 (and all the X--series, for that matter) were designed to be smaller, lighter weight descendants of the 240X - but they were no less indestructible.

My X41 has fallen into puddles, out of cars, down several flights of stairs and off kitchen countertops. (Among much, much more.)

The screen never cracked. The screen never needed a protective film for the stylus (and I used it a LOT - kind of baby's first introduction to art tablets, really), and I never needed to replace the stylus. At some points the nub would wear down enough it wouldn't function anymore, but there was no danger of the screen being damaged by it.

It was an absolute tank.

Frankly, I'm not even sure why I'm saying was - the damned thing still works at time of posting.

What it can still do:

Connect to the internet (lesser secure networks - it's not sure how to handle higher encryptions now)

Use either its Windows or Linux partition (I split it for a programming class in Uni - don't really use Ubuntu much anymore, but it's still there.)

Work in google docs

Doodle

Check email

Browse Tumblr

Play a low-res Aquarium simulator

(And really, what more does anyone need in life?)

What it cannot do:

Function without being connected to the wall. The battery holds charge like a sieve and there are no replacement batteries short of something custom anymore. (That I can find.)

Handle anything that requires a modern-day average amount of RAM. (ie. anything more than doodles are out. Rendering will choke it.)

Handle standard Wifi networks' level of encryption (I usually have to tether it to my phone)

Anything that could even loosely fall under the definition of "gaming"

Be upgraded past WinXP

Here it is, gently roused from its nap its natural habitat - a Fruits Basket shoulderbag, also from circa 2005. (Most pins are later additions)

We still go out for walks on the weekend and find a café to do some writing; it is, for all intents and purposes, almost a fucking 20-year-old laptop that still functions as my main (personal) laptop - because writing in Google docs and posting to Ao3 is about all I do when I'm not mobile for work. All I need is an outlet.

In summary: Fuckin Nokia of laptops. 1000/10 would recommend. The damn thing outlived my first CAR that I got about the same time. (Not my fault that some kid crashed their car into it while it was parked in my driveway and knocked it into my neighbor's living room, totaling it, BUT I WOULD BET THE LAPTOP WOULD HAVE SURVIVED A SIMILAR FATE)

That being said - if it does, indeed, retire itself to The Great Cloud in the near future... ...are modern/current Thinkpads any good? I've got a severe sense of brand loyalty for Lenovo, but after twenty years, you never know if they're still the same. 👀 Taking recs.

IBM thinkpad model 240X with accessory floppy drive

[bamsara]

If you can spark enough support/donations (because it's expensive at 1000) can I suggest you get a Asus gaming laptop? They run extremely well my dad has had his for y e a r s and it's just started having battery issues but works at 100 percent capacity when plugged in. My own is just running well plugged or unplugged.

They have a wonderful fan system, large storage space, and should run great for art stuff since they are meant to run video games.

I was aiming for something like that but I'm trying to milk my laptop as much as possible. Even if its 4 years old and probably has heat and overuse damage, I saved up a pretty penny for it ages ago so I plan to use it until it doesn't turn on anymore

I actually have some money saved up, not to that amount yet, but a decent start because of wonderful people donating + budgeting my own bills/supplies/taking some money out of my escape-from-alabama-and-this-house fund. I can't right now but soon I hope to open commissions and finish the Kofi shop thing. Its not super urgent because the laptop is still kicking though

(Also that being said thank you again ppl who donate with Kofi and twitch and stuff but please please PLEASE don't feel obligated to do so vdbdnfng I will still make art and write stuff either way as long as I have wifi)

[dailytechnologynews]

Is there really not a perfect 11.5-13.5" Windows tablet choice?!

Hello guys. For the past week i've been researching to find the perfect windows tablet choice for my specific application need. However it seems there isn't even one device that doesn't have some type of throwback. I'm not asking for everything, but it seems it is either hit or miss, even if you take into account overpriced products. Please hear me out and let me know your thoughts.

I am essentially looking for a WINDOWS TABLET which its primary purpose is to be fitted to my car as a secondary "dash" per say so i can use it to interact with my aftermarket motorsports ecu. It will function as a monitoring dash for the most of the time, but can be used to datalog (aka record data) or for direct tuning (so i don't have to bring my laptop everytime i need to make changes to my engine calibration). I wouldn't mind using it at home as well since i will have it, but mostly will work as a travel/trip companion since i have a PC at home. It has to be a WINDOWS tablet as the software that interfaces with the ecu is only windows based.

After thinking and revising my requirements several times after getting disappointed by what is available here is the break down:

Dimensions: Height needs to be around ~205mm +10mm max so the tablet can be secured in the glove box when not in use. Ideally height should be maximized so that the display area is maximized as well. Length larger than 300mm is not a problem but would get annoying to fit to the car since it will extend more towards the passenger side. This effectively limits me to ~11.8-13.3" tablets, so Microsoft Surface Pro can be used as a reference design (since i haven't seen bezel-less windows tablets yet) Display: This is the most important attribute of the tablet. 1080p absolute minimum resolution, 2K ideally, 3K is probably not gonna be noticeable at the usage distance. Here is a screenshot from my 1080p laptop so you can see the ECU software in datalog mode (slightly cropped but so you can get an idea: http://content.invisioncic.com/r260425/monthly_2017_09/fuel_pressure_link.png.bc827c0a96fe120632f1d7c168e66a64.png However let's not forget brightness and contrast. Brightness should be ~400nits or better for a glossy display, and contrast should be considered over color accuracy. Viewing angle in the length span should be at least 150deg but i think it is hard nowadays to find such a bad display panel. Finally a fully laminated panel is recommended. Physical interfaces: I essentially need a single full size USB port so i can connect my ECU to the tablet. After my research i decided to allow for USB-C assuming that i can get a dongle that will allow me to interface without any issues; but it's best not to allow for that route due to possible incompatibility issues (like what happened when usb3.0 was released). Extra USB ports, USB-C that allows charging and data, video output port, headphone jack, m.2 expansion slot, sd card slot are all pluses. Wireless interfaces: Min wifi and bluetooth. 802.11AC and bluetooth v4.2 or better all pluses. CPU/GPU performance: Generally something better than N3450 (tested my brother's CHUWI surbook mini) and more recent will help, GPU performance is irrelevant for the task so the majority of intergrated GPU's will do fine. RAM: 4GB absolute minimum, 8gb ideal Cooling: I prefer passive cooling, but usually the cooling solution used is sh*t. At least in some cases it can be modded (i'm experienced and willing to do) Battery: 4 hours light use with full display brightness as minimum. If charging is performed over USB-C i hope it is not the stupid kind of power->battery->device like in phones and can work like in laptops where the battery is not used when power is supplied to the laptop. This way you don't wear out the battery since the device will be connected to power most of the time it is operated. Storage: 64gb absolute min, ideal min should be 128gb, speed is relative but i think at least m.2 sata interface ssd; NVME huge + Others: Pen support and attachable keyboard are pluses, but i plan on using a good bluetooth keyboard with backlight (required) so it makes them irrelevant if the tablet is good, Thunderbolt 3 is a +, unlocked bios +, kickstand should work on a lap without cutting your pants off and stay in one place, sd card reader + Reliability: From what i read most chinese tablets are pretty bad with both hardware and software issues out of the box. Backcover should be metal to act as heatsink and be stiff enough, weight and thickness is not that important Condition: New or used. I believe some products offer better value when bought used and others because have been discontinued Pricing: My budget is flexible but depending on the features lots of them are overpriced especially bought new. I would say ~500eur for a new tablet with min features required and 1000eur for one with better hardware. Considering i'm building a 7nm PC in a couple of months the market pricing is really unacceptable for most windows tablets. Blame Apple for it, but i'm not a rich consumer neither i am a sheep. Performance to value is what i always look for.

I literally checked every windows tablet and 2-in-1 i believe. Here some potential picks and what i didn't like.

Microsoft Surface Pro (4 - 5 - 6): At first glance it is a good base candidate..but..really Microsoft? It's 2019 and no USB-C? Proprietary connector and overpriced hardware? Questionable reliability? Get the f*ck out of here. Unless you find a good used deal i don't think it would be worth it. Another Apple wannabe. Eve-tech EVE V: This is one tablet that hits all the boxes, kinda, since by now it is almost obsolete in terms of CPU performance..sadly while i'm greek-cypriot i would go with the stereotypical view for greeks because the CEO is a "malakas" and i'm really sorry to all the people that were scammed. On the other hand i believe there is some truth to the Paypal issues he had since my friend had similar issues (because of not much experience) and even I couldn't help him get them fixed as Paypal is run by assholes as well which need a punch to the face (their excuse it is the system and they can't do anything about it - like wtf). I still use it but the time a different payment system reaches similar adoption i would gladly switch. Chuwi Surbook: Slow CPU, screen is not fully laminated, mediocre specs but was good price at some time ago. Maybe the announced "surbook pro" would fair better? Voyo Vbook i5/i7 Plus: Nice screen, fair pricing? Not the most quality build, shitty battery, i7 model throttles? Teclast X6 Pro: A slightly better vbook i5? No full detailed reviews yet, and i wasn't that impressed from the previous X5 review Alldocube Knote 8: Seems good on paper, but no type-A usb ports Jumper EZpad 6: Possibly the only windows tablet in stock with a good value, however i need something with a better and larger display Acer Switch 3/5: Mediocre screens, single type-A port on the right side (since my car is RHD and the ecu is on the left side i would prefer it on the left side), shitty battery performance, a little overpriced Dell XPS 12 9290/Latitude 5290/Latitude 7285: Great displays, powerful, only 5290 has type-A port, mediocre battery life, overpriced but there are good used deals Asus Transformer 3 Pro T303UA/T304UA: Premium specs but discontinued, expensive, only 1 type-A port and it is on the right side (again), T304 is a huge step backwards even though newer (what the heck Asus, are you drunk?) Lenovo ThinkPad X1: Overpriced, no type-A ports, Gen3 is too big and has display coating issues, Gen2 is more suitable due to size and type-a interface but older and screen brightness not that good - all too tall Lenovo MIIX series: new 630 uses an ARM processor so no go (since i can't force the software developpers to re-compile), 720 rates very high in the features i need, 2 usb type-A ports, nice display, etc. 520 is a little newer with weaker hardware but still good for its price HP Pro X2/Envy X2/Elite X2 1012: HP's other offerings like the Elite X2 1013 are too tall for my needs, and while they have good displays and good build quality i am not font of their design decisions. I have a Zbook 17 G5 workstation at work we bought new and not even 6 months passed and the CPU fan now rattles like crazy..here's my 1st day rant about it: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Note-to-HP-Zbook-17-G5-design-engineers-Please-read-and/td-p/6914797 Also they are overpriced like crazy. I wouldn't ever think of buying again from them. Also the power supply is proprietary as some of the internal hardware. F*ck HP Huawei MateBook E: Aside the lack of ports it is a pretty good designed device, display is perfect but slightly smaller than the biggest i can fit - depending on price it might be a good consideration assuming i can run a USB-C dock i can charge within the car Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Similar to the Huawei above, just a little faster but with a worse display, extra usb-C port. Older and more expensive than the Huawei Toshiba Portege X30T and others: Ports are on the keyboard and not on the tablet, won't work for me.

I think i've covered 99% of the options but i may could have missed 1 or 2. To be honest i won't need this tablet for another 3-6months i would guess but at least i've done my research so i will be prepared when the time comes to buy one. What do you think? I know i went a little crazy but i'm that type of person that never regrets his purchasing choices because i don't buy blindly.

[nerdybff]

Don't Fear the Laptop Ban: You CAN Work from Your Phone

The laptop ban. Oh how that worries me.

I actually treasure the time I spend working on a plane. It’s uninterrupted blocks of time that let me finish up presentations, develop new content, catch up with emails (offline so that I don’t receive immediate replies and I can clear out my inbox) and just have clear thinking time without my regular distractions.

But we have to face the reality that the powers that be may determine at any moment that laptops and tablets on planes are a danger to us all and will expand the ban to all international flights or even domestic.

So for the past couple of weeks, I have been working out a system to make sure I can WORK — really WORK — from my iPhone 7+.

Today is the time to test my theories and practice what I preach. I’m on a 4-hour flight to Chicago, and I’m writing this on my phone.

Yes, it’s working.

Yes, it’s easy.

Yes, you can do it, too.

Here’s how:

Step One: Get a Larger Phone

The guy sitting next to me on this plane has a teeny, tiny iPhone SE, and I think the little size would drive me nuts. If you’re going to be doing this on a regular basis, you want a screen you don’t have to strain to see.

You’re also going to want a lot of storage so you can work with downloaded files that you store locally. And you want to make sure it has a pretty fast processor (like a phone created in the past year).

Step Two: Get a Bluetooth Keyboard

I don’t think I could work for 4 hours on my phone if I didn’t have an external keyboard — and, more importantly, the RIGHT keyboard. Try out different sizes, shapes, configurations and features because you want to be comfortable as you work.

I tried a number of keyboards before settling on this one. Here are some pros and cons of the ones I tried:

Compact with a Stand I thought this style would be the best option. It’s an all-in-one keyboard with a little lip for your phone. First, the keyboard was way too cramped. The second problem is that the lip was really small, and my phone case made my phone too big to stay on the lip.

Ergonomic Keyboard I liked the idea of this style because it seemed to me that the curved keyboard would work well with the angle your arms might be on a plane. But this keyboard had a little trouble connecting to the bluetooth, and I found that I kept pressing the wrong keys. I’m sure over time I would get used to the shape.

Full-Size Keyboard Ding ding ding! The iClever Keyboard is my favorite, and I’m using it right now. It is exactly the same size as my laptop keyboard, and it folds up to half its size for travel. I also like that you can set the keyboard to match your platform — Mac, Windows or Android. Several of the keyboards could do this, and it’s handy to have the same shortcuts and keys.Another thing I like about this keyboard is that it has a light-up background so I can see it in a dark cabin. It also connects instantly and reliably to my phone — all I have to do is open it.

The iClever is not perfect, though. I��still bunched up my shoulders to keep my fingers on the keys. I have also noticed that it skips a keystroke every once in a while when I’m typing quickly (all the ones I’ve ever used have that problem). Another challenge is that it’s a little big for the tray. When I was testing at home, I looked up the “standard” airplane tray size online. And — surprise, surprise — modern trays are smaller. Also, I don’t like that I can’t see the status of the battery anywhere. It just shows green if it’s charged. Ummm. If it wasn’t charged, wouldn’t it not show anything?Lastly, and this is petty, it clicks. I hate to click.Update: I found another annoyance — the P key seems to take extra effort. I keep writing “hone” instead of “phone.” Again, petty. But still.Another lesson — the keyboard doesn’t work in every program — including the iPhone search feature (what? Really?). It also has different capabilities in different apps. I’m using notes right now, and some of my keyboard shortcuts don’t work, although they work in Microsoft Word and other places.

Step Three: Get a Phone Stand

You’re going to want to prop up your phone at a nice angle so you don’t have to strain to see the screen. Look for a stand with a little grip to it so it doesn’t slide off the tray. Another thing to think about is how much space it needs on your tray. You want as small of a footprint as possible so everything will fit.

Again, I tried several varieties to find the right one.

Case with Stand I like stands that hold my license and a couple of credit cards in a pocket in the back but is still thin, so I’m kinda picky. I found a nice-looking case that had a stand and card slot, but I didn’t like that it would only hold my phone in the horizontal position, although the solution I’m using right now also has the horizontal limitation, and I’m finding it works just fine for the work I need to do (email, writing, PowerPoints).

Goofy Stand I bought this just for kicks — figured it would make a good conversation starter. But it took up too much space on the tray, so I’m going to use it to prop up my iPhone when I’m watching TV in the bathtub. #NotKidding

Sturdy Aluminum Stand The stand I thought would be perfect is a little easel with a small lip. It’s sturdy and small. #win I was happily using it on this plane until I returned from using the facilities. Then I accidentally sat on it, and instead of fishing it out, I just tried out the PopSocket below, and I think I prefer the PopSocket.

PopSocket Like the stand with arms, I bought this as a novelty item because it was kinda cute. It’s a collapsible popup thingy that adheres to your case. At first I eliminated it because it doesn’t work for a vertical stand, but as I mentioned before, turns out I might not need the vertical. I love that it pops in when you don’t need it as a stand so it stays small but nearby.

Step Four: Buy a Strong Power Supply

As I mentioned before, I have no way of knowing how much juice is left on my keyboard. And working this way on my phone is hard on the battery (while listening to Adele and occasionally taking a break to play Two Dots). Halfway through the flight I was at 50%. But my trusty external battery was standing by.

Get a high-power one with two or more charging ports so you can simultaneously charge your keyboard and phone. If you’re lucky enough to have a plug at your seat, you can plug your charger into the outlet so it continues to charge even as it charges your other devices. My Anker charger has 13000mAh. Don’t rely on the cheap ones you get from trade shows — they’re frequently like 2200mAh and won’t last long enough.

Step Five: Plan Ahead for What You Need to Work on

This may be a challenge for some of you who are used to just opening your laptop and having all your files and programs with you at all times. You may be able to work on your email offline (or connect to wifi on the plane, although it’s not only not secure but it’s also usually pretty pathetic). Gmail lets me do this, keeping outgoing mail in the outbox until I connect. It’s also easy to create new content in various apps without having to worry about working on an existing file. Right now I’m using Apple Notes with zero problems.

Where you really have to plan ahead is when you’re working on documents you already have, which probably happens a lot. For this you’re going to want both a cloud-based synchronization system (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.), plus the accompanying app that will let you edit it.

Microsoft Office Mobile Apps are INSANELY good on this front. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps have almost every single feature that the software programs do. You can format, add pictures, apply themes, add headers/footers, create tables and much more. It takes a little more patience because you have to choose the options from drop down menus and scroll more than you have to in the full versions. But I’m really impressed — and they’re FREE! But to get the full functionality, I highly recommend an Office 365 subscription.

Unsurprisingly Office apps work the best with Microsoft OneDrive. Just save the document in your OneDrive account on your main computer, then download it for offline use in your program. Edit offline (or on), and your version is synched as soon as you’re connected again. It’s also autosaved. Microsoft now integrates seamlessly with Dropbox, so that’s an option as well.

One time I had to create a brand new presentation on a plane, and PowerPoint worked just like the computer version. But for this trip I tried to download one of my existing PPTs to edit on the plane. My PPTs are MASSIVE — like 300MB — because of all the graphics and multimedia, so it just never synched. But if it’s a regular document or other file of moderate size, you’ll be fine.

One option for getting your files on your phone to work on is to use an external drive. I tried this one and yuck. Total fail. Perhaps other external drives will work better for you, but I’ll rely on the cloud to pull info to my phone.

Step Six: Plan for When You Get Off the Plane

If you checked your laptop in your luggage (I bought a Pelican hard case just in case the rules change), all you have to do to is connect to the cloud and wait for your phone and laptop to synchronize.

But if you’ve ditched your laptop for the trip because working with your phone is all you need, you can use some inexpensive dongles and cables to expand the functionality of your phone even further.

Hotel TVs frequently have HDMI ports, and you can carry a long HDMI cable so you can use your TV as a larger monitor for your phone. Then all you need is a dongle to connect your phone. I have both a VGA and an HDMI dongle (I like saying dongle). You can also connect your phone using a Chromecast device for Android or an Apple TV for iPhone.

You can also use these tools to connect to projectors. PowerPoint, Google Slides and Keynote also have a play mode for projectors that works just like a regular computer when you go into presentation mode. Then you just swipe your finger across the screen to advance slides. You can even draw on the slides to emphasize points.

Another option that’s fairly new: Presentations now have a live mode that lets your audience members pull up the presentation on their own devices so they can follow along without having to see a full screen. Advantage: It’ll keep everyone from checking phones during your presentation. Disadvantage: You may be presenting to a group of people who are staring at their phones instead of engaging with you as presenter.

So that’s it — all the research I’ve done to prove it’s (fairly) easy to use your phone as a computer. I doubt it would have taken longer on a laptop to write this 2000-word post.

The flight attendant just told us to put up our devices, so perfect timing.

Are you ready to try working from your phone? Chime in!

Don’t Fear the Laptop Ban: You CAN Work from Your Phone was originally published on Your Nerdy Best Friend

[libertarian-druid-ny-separatist]

Alright so, another update.

Laptop located. It's as good as my current desktop, if not slightly better, and has a fuckhuge batter I can charge at work. And I should be able to get the same or more money from selling my desktop and most of the accessories. It's a damn near even trade price wise. And since I'll have no roommate and be parked far enough from people that I won't disturb them, I can start streaming more. Add on the fact that my laptop will be the entirety of my entertainment aside from my phone and I just have more reason to. Checked my current phone service, since that's how I'll be doing it and all of my parking spots should have the ability to stream, if just barely. Thankfully, one is also a Walmart with free wifi, and once the employees leave around 10, that shits quick. Though streaming high intensity games is gonna be out. Mostly small indie games with last generation's graphics. Not that I have an issue with that, I grew up on those.

Plus there's still small time indie games like Cult of the Lamb, which is fuckin great and tiny enough to stream on mobile data alone.

I can also pick up my batteries locally, which is a huge help. From one of four places I'll be able to access easily after work. While it's not perfect yet, it's damn close. And now my creepy roommate is just getting worse. So I gotta get the hell outta here asap. Debating on staying with family, but I'm not willing to dump that extra stress on em. But if I go offline for like a week before getting the van, for which I'll be doing a massive update to the blog so count on that, then assume he killed me. Because I'm legitimately thinking that might happen.

Anyway, back to positive stuff, turns out with the people who move into vans/cars out of necessity, what I'm doing is pretty common. Not around here, but across the US, UK, Canada and more countries. So on top of the wealth of knowledge that is my coworkers, I have the globe to look at for advice and inspiration. Gonna go with the cheapest possible AC, a cooler with a fan filled with ice. And my uncle is gonna donate his propane heater. So my already super low costs just keep getting lower. And that means I should be able to save enough for a house more quickly. Though I may need an additional solar panel if I don't want to be dependent on stores selling ice. But there's also coolers out there that aren't horribly high usage and aren't horribly expensive. Plus I won't really need a full on ac till next year anyway. It'll feel cheaper to get it then too.

But yeah, four more days, 3 I guess for some of you, and I get the van. This Friday. Then I'm out of creep's house and live alone again. Which might sound like a problem to some, but I kinda prefer it that way. Even better if I don't have to pay nearly as much to live there. My "rent" goes down to roughly $150 a month for gas and insurance (if I go super basic) and my food needs go down to less than $300 if I'm being honest but we'll call it that because it's my budget. Then $45 for cell and net and my monthly costs are down to roughly $500. That's less than I pay in rent now. And by a fair bit, for all of my needs.

My total monthly expenses are now less than a single monthly expense, plus no creeps living with me, plus faster net, plus freedom. I'm mostly just wondering why I didn't do this sooner.

I think I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna switch to living out of a van or RV, haven't decided which yet but more likely van until my county is a part of VT officially. I've been studying it the last few days and I'm already basically living a van life with more electricity. So if I just get an extra battery and wire them in parallel then I'll be able to with no problems, even fewer if I become a huelegin or however the hell you spell it.

Already got the budget planned for what I currently have available, not selling assets, I should have just enough. But I'll also be selling my desktop and car and likely bike too. Already got permission to park in the 24/7 gym lot and my work lot should I choose to, and there are a couple of public lots in the area with unlimited parking, but no snow removal, but I've also got a friend that'll let me use their driveway or park in front of their place or just use their place if it's really uncomfortable for a night.

Now I just gotta get a quote on plexiglass for the windows and doors, but I'm also between a couple of models to choose from.

[helvetica12point]

I was in grad school in 2008, so some of this may be colored by that harrowing experience. Personally, I can think a lot was pretty similar to now, and it's easier to say what wasn't a thing.

Social media: Facebook was becoming the thing, but Myspace was still around. Livejournal was pretty much out, but I'm not sure what had replaced it.

Cell phones: mostly flip phones, smart phones were not a thing yet. Pretty much everyone had a cell in this time, although older adults also had land lines, much like today. You were doing well to have a plan with unlimited minutes and text. Water resistance wasn't even a thought, and you could and did easily replace the battery in your phone. I know I dropped my phone number times and all that happened was the battery popped out, and maybe the case got dinged a little.

Communication: phone calls were a bigger thing, as were texts, although some people had limited texts. Some people used MSN, but Yahoo! Messenger was also still in a use, and of course you could send messages on FB. forums, chat rooms, internet dating, all of that was around, just different sites. I want to say Reddit, 4chan, and somethingawful were around then. I know 4chan was. Icanhascheezburger was the best source for cat memes. I got most of my news from Fark, but that may have just been me. I think Charlie the Unicorn came out around then, and possibly Look at my Horse. Rage comics were the thing.

Learning tech: I'm part of the group that grew up while all this technology was developing--like, I remember seeing rotary phones at relatives houses when I was little. Unless it was specific to the class, most of it I had to figure out on my own. This is how I graduated from undergrad having had a course on Microsoft Excel/Access and another in digital photography that covered some basics in Photoshop, but never took an intro to computers class. I just missed needing that requirement by like a year.

Various tech: wifi wasn't a thing, and we mostly used desktops. Laptops were hella expensive. Tablets were still only in Star Trek. Kindly might have been a thing, but barely. Amazon prime didn't exist, tho Amazon did. Amazon wasn't doing the price fixing bullshit with sellers, so things would actually be different prices across Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Etsy was still mostly for crafters and artists and hadn't quite been taken over by Chinese sellers yet. Wireless headphones existed, but were still pricey, about $50 for a low end pair. I remember that specifically cause when I was in the psych hospital I couldn't have earbuds and we couldn't afford wireless headphones. DVDs were the thing. Streaming video was done on your computer, not on your smart TV, which didn't exist. Hulu was 100% free, there was no paid plan. Netflix was around, of course, and still had the option to mail you physical discs, I believe. If you're writing an adult in 2008, they will remember the red Netflix envelopes at any rate. Cameras were mostly digital point and shoot. Phone cameras were around 2ish megapixels. Not even joking. There were still photo developing counters with humans where you could drop off film. (I couldn't afford a DSLR camera in undergrad, so I learned about scanning negatives a year or two before.). Where the camera tech was still so low, a lot of teachers still used slides, especially in art. One of the teachers I was an assistant for, I pretty much worked on digitizing her slide collection. Hell, I had slides made of my own work to submit for grad school applications because not all schools accepted digital slides yet.

200 gb was A LOT.

Flat screen TVs were still fairly new, maybe 3-5 years?

Humans scanned all your groceries, self checkout was not a thing. I don't think cars had backup cameras or USB ports just yet--if they did, it was optional not standard. I will say my 2011 Ford focus has one USB port, and a very old school looking interface, just for a nearby reference point. It also has voice control for my phone and music player. I think that particular system was maybe 3-4 years old, so if you had a brand new car in 2008 and got all the spiffy options you probably had voice control, a backup camera, and could connect your phone to your car. However, you had to have a separate device like a TomTom for GPS. And you probably had none of that in college unless your parents were loaded. Most college students, if they had a car, drove something from the late 90s or early 2000s. And yeah, having a car was a big deal. Uber and Lyft weren't a thing, so it was inadequate public transit, walking, maybe a bicycle, or a car.

Surveillance in general was not as much as it is today, although most businesses and paranoid people would have cameras everywhere. Mostly only sports bars had TVs, I think. There weren't screens everywhere you looked. While phones were dumb, you could still play games and stuff in them, and they also fit in your pocket. Tech was still getting smaller.

Ecigs did not exist. If you wanted to quit smoking, you used nicotine patches instead of vaping.

College

The internet was used for research, of course, checking your email, dicking around on between classes, etc, etc. A lot of the same stuff as today but without the social media. I had a computer, but was also in grad school and married. I did have to share it with my husband tho. Online classes were a thing, but less ubiquitous. Blackboard was the primary software for online classes and sucked balls. I think the video classes where you could watch the professor teach in real time and send questions online we're still really new, maybe just a few years.

Anybody I wanted to get in touch with I probably called, unless it was a professor. They got emails.

I rocked out to music on my gen 3 iPod while I worked in the studio. It had 8 gb and I thought I'd never need more. I also thought the iPod was the best mp3 player. Currently, for comparison, I have 128gb iPod touch that's about half full and I just got a low end Fiio player for work (I have to have a dumb player for security purposes) and I put a 256gb memory card in it cause I couldn't afford bigger. I have around 128gb of audio books on it plus my music collection. The Fiio player is hi res and makes me wonder why I even own an iPod. Also, yes, iTunes was still a pain in 2008, although not as bad. Periodically you still had to input album info when you ripped a CD because gracenotes didn't always have it.

Research projects: in grad school in 2008, my research projects were a mix of online and print sources, and still were a couple years later. I would argue that even today there are some topics you're not getting good sources online for.

Social media was not a thing for class groups a fact which I thank my lucky stars for. Emails were bad enough.

You still bought your textbooks, you didn't rent them, although I think that was just starting to be an option, maybe.

At in state rates at a state school, I paid around $3500/semester for just tuition and fees in grad school. Most of my loans from that time were living expenses cause hubby couldn't find work in that hellhole. That was honestly super cheap for grad school, and about what I paid at my undergrad. Another state school I looked at ran around $5k a semester. And remember that's just tuition and fees. A friend recently had me looking at current tuition rates and I about had a heart attack.

Also I think it's worth noting that pay rates have not increased significantly except at the bottom. My work study in 2008 and my assistantship in the following school year paid $12.50/hr and that was pretty good. The retail job I had before we moved for grad school paid I think around $8.50/hr and was about average for that kind of work at the time (or a bit above). Most full time jobs in my region paid $11-14/hr and still do. That was poverty level then. Rent, however, has gone up significantly. We were in a relatively poor area for grad school so we were able to rent a 2bd 1.5 bath 1000+ sqft townhome for around $550 a month. I think further north you were looking at $650 for barely 800sqft and no pets. Now, of course, you're not renting a 2bd apartment for under $750, at least not in the area I grew up in.

Other item of note: most things were less expensive, excluding tech. I am perpetually horrified when I check out at the grocery store. The 3-4 bags that cost $50 used to run about $30. Package sizes were bigger, and clothing and fabrics were better quality. Clothing sizes were also generally a bit bigger--China was not nearly as much of an influence on the market. Books were cheaper and a volume of manga still ran about $10. Borders and Books a Million still existed, as did Circuit City. You probably played games on your Xbox or PS2 I can't recall if it was 2008 or 2009 when the Xbox 360 came it, but you probably got the red ring of death if you had one and had to ship it back.

I had to pay for my birth control pills, and the $4 list was in it's infancy. Sudafed may not have been behind the pharmacy counter at that point, now that I think about it, but I want to say it was. At least half the medications I'm on did not exist, although if you were depressed or anxious you were probably on one of the SSRIs.

Superheroes were still for nerds.

We thought Obama was a socialist and that that was a bad thing. Sarah Palin was running with John Kerry as vice president, and she horrified us. Had we only known what was in store.

Need help from people who were 16+ in 2008!

Are there any older people out there that are willing to share their experiences with technology in the 2000′s era?

Specifically, I’m looking for information and first-hand accounts about technology use in universities and everyday life circa 2008-ish for people who were 16+ at the time.

I’m considering setting Project Vestige in 2008, but I haven’t been able to find a lot of information in terms of common technology used back then — I’ve only been able to find massive technological breakthroughs and what was launched in 2008, which aren’t all that helpful to me.

I was just a kid at the time, and that was before I was really involved with technology so my own experiences aren’t the best to draw from (especially in terms of how college students and adults interacted with it) and I’m certain that my university experience 10-ish years later was very different since there has been a lot of innovation.

So for people that were teens, young adults, adults around 2008, I would be super grateful if you were willing to share what it was like!

I would really appreciate it if you could share your experiences in a reblog or comment so I have everything in one place.

Since I know this is super open-ended I have some specific questions underneath the cut — but I would love to hear anything even if it’s not in the questions:

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