#and facebook is making it impossible to recover the accounts

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Tfw your the only one in the family whose facebook hasn't been hacked right now.

#remember how i said our washing machine died? #yeah mom went onto facebook marketplace to try and find one thats nearby enough for dad and his friend to pick it up #and she found one and....yeah #after info given over #the bitch stopped responding #and now moms found out her facebooks been hacked #as has dads somehow #im the only one who hasnt which is funny #as i dont fucking use mine #but still holy shit... #and facebook is making it impossible to recover the accounts

[ailtrahq]

Westport, Connecticut police assisted a crypto investor in reclaiming over $3 million in Bitcoin (BTC) after they fell victim to a high-profile financial scam. Westport police thwart BTC scam  In May, the Westport police reportedly initiated an investigation following a report from a victim, who had been persuaded to transfer funds from their retirement account to a Kraken crypto exchange wallet address January, as stated by Lt. Eric Woods in a news release.  Between January and March, the victim discovered that over $3 million worth of Bitcoin had been withdrawn and moved to cryptocurrency wallets beyond their control. Collaborating with the Connecticut State Police, Westport detectives diligently traced the transactions and successfully froze all accounts linked to the scam, as confirmed by Woods. As a result of these efforts, authorities successfully recovered over  $3 million, which has now been returned to the victim. Woods also clarified that the frozen accounts were traced back to residents of Pakistan, making the likelihood of arrests in this case highly unlikely. In a statement issued on Sept. 29, Woods of the Westport Police Department emphasized the significance of this case, showcasing the commendable efforts of their Detective Bureau. He also reminded residents to be cautious and wary of scam schemes. Cryptocurrency scams a cause of concern In recent years, crypto scams have surged as bad actors continue exploiting the cryptocurrency industry’s lack of regulation.  The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) offers a Crypto Scam Tracker, enabling users to search for specific complaints and providing insights into common scams and protective measures for crypto transactions. In May, a UK couple experienced a significant setback when they became victims of a Bitcoin scam, resulting in a debt of $56,000. The scam, unrelated to Bitcoin or cryptocurrency, capitalized on the couple’s shallow understanding of financial matters. It appeared to be a phishing scam wherein the couple was deceived into divulging their BTC wallet and personal information. In August, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society issued a stern warning to Facebook, threatening to obtain a court-issued shutdown order if the platform fails to address alleged investment and crypto scam advertisements.  According to the ministry, these deceptive ads on Facebook have victimized more than 200,000 individuals, promoting crypto scams, fraudulent investments, and counterfeit government agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. The ministry is actively accumulating evidence related to these scam advertisements, which have surpassed 5,300 in number. The issue has endured despite the government’s persistent requests urging Facebook to remove more than 5,000 identified scam ads. These scams, boasting daily returns of up to 30%, often exploit celebrity endorsements or falsely claim compliance with regulatory bodies, creating a significant concern for authorities and users alike. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), over $1 billion in cryptocurrency has been lost to scams since the beginning of 2021, affecting more than 46,000 individuals.  The most prevalent scams involved fake investment opportunities, with $575 million reported in crypto fraud losses related to these schemes in 2021. Victims fell prey to fraudulent investment websites and apps, believing they could monitor their crypto growth, only to discover the apps were fake, and retrieving their money became impossible.

[blacklodgemusictx]

Salim Nourallah: Record Release Mini Tour - Night One

Standing in front of the Lonesome Rose honky tonk in San Antonio, I am keenly reminded of what it was *not* when I last stood here. When last here it was January. It was not 95 degrees.

I’m starting to sweat. I gravitate to available outdoor seating: a row of what appears to be old movie theater chairs… stuffing coming out through loose cushion stitches appears to be *squint* hair…?

Jason Garner is there. I’ve never actually spoken to him, but with his bare, tattooed arms and cheerful blue mohawk, he’s recognizable to say the least. He’s crouched over taking pictures of a cactus by the stairs. The cactus is smiling.

“We’ve never actually met. We’re LizNDoug (run it together. All one word. Can’t have one without the other… like peanut butter and jelly)… Salim’s friends.”

Sure! He’s seen us at shows. The same way we’ve seen him. He disappears inside to see if a Salim could be located. No, he’s gone off to eat.

I continue wilting. It’s 15 minutes to the announced door time, but there is no one around. Absolutely no one. The key to walking in where you may or may not belong is confidence. Just walk in. So we did.

The difference between the bright sunshine and the low light dazzles my eyes. A benevolent shadow form coalesces and hugs me. My eyes adjust. Olivia Willson-Piper. There she is being happy to see me again - still getting use to that: kind people being happy to see me for no other reason than my basic existence. She’s there with Marty having a bite to eat.

Marty is a vegetarian. He informs us while delicately unwrapping his… wrap (?) that he also doesn’t like peppers. He tweezes them out while we chat.

Olivia and I end up under a light source comparing tattoos. I start naming off the menagerie of animals that dot my arms. And let slip that my favorite chicken - an artistically rendered Lavender Orpington on my left forearm- is called Olivia. She seems delighted.

John Dufhilo appears. I haven’t really ever spoken to him before, but just like Jason Garner, he is immediately recognizable. We are Salim facilitated Facebook friends and not too long ago, I added my voice to those on said social media platform rejoicing as he recovered from a massive heart attack. He surprises and delights me with a hug. It is wonderful seeing him well and hearty.

Joe Reyes is there. We know him a little better than some of these satellites we have met in Salim’s orbit. He has the best smile. Seems genuinely delighted to just be in a room with air. The addition of friends and the opportunity to play music? Even better.

At some point Salim appears. It’s hard to talk amidst the bustle of a bar waking up for its nightly duties. Something upsetting happened to him the day before. I hug him. I got nightmare family news (related to the nightmare of my family… namely it’s toppled, usurped, disgraced patriarch. Daddy issues? I’ll have a lifetime subscription) this very day and have spent a good portion of my afternoon crying.

He’s going to play, “Let Go” from his new album, he tells me. I like it… this is an excellent idea. The *only* thing that would give me peace right now is that very [impossible] action.

Time passes. Positions shift. Marty dons glasses and moves to a different table. He looks like a stern bookkeeper going over accounts. In reality, he’s making a setlist.

More time passes. I don’t mind the wait. To get my fix in the vicinity of musicians, I used to queue up first thing in the morning and spend all day without food or water to be first in, front row for The Flaming Lips. My only reward for that might be a faraway wave from Steven or a chat with Kliph.

Sitting inside the dark and cool, talking to these fascinating people - my friends - this is heaven.

Early on, Doug is recruited to run merch. I’m not surprised. The merch table has become our station. Doug is in his element. Me? I’ll helpfully point at the records. Tell people after the set where the songs they thought were catchy originated. Tell them ‘A Nuclear Winter’ yes, that’s the newest one. But I stand here next to him proudly. Whatever you need. Whatever helps.

Salim and the Treefort Five are first to play tonight (he tells me later their new name is ‘Salim and the Philistines.’)

I am deeply deeply biased at this point… but they sound incredible to me. Seeing Salim backed by a full band… he comes alive in a completely new way as a performer. I’ve been lucky enough to behold this two other times - Sons of Hermann Hall in Dallas in 2019. Then this year (2023) opening for the Old 97s. I love my friend as an energetic front man.

This time is different and monumental. This time Marty. Marty Willson-Piper formerly of Australian band The Church (this man is the whole reason we were brought in to warm regard of Salim Nourallah - he and Doug share a mutual love of The Church.)

Marty and Olivia came over in 2018 to be enfolded in to the Nourallah musical family. Recording, producing has happened even with a global pandemic to work around.

This is work coming to fruition. Nuclear Winter finally birthed. Marty is finally on stage by Salim’s side. I know this is monumental for him and I love it. I love witnessing this. I love being here. Love that he wants me here. Love that these amazing people jam packed in to this tiny room are our friends now too.

The amassed gents rip through a mix of Salim standards and a heavy dose of things from the new album.

The set end nears. I’ve snapped my pictures. Taken my videos. All in the name of seeing; witnessing; presence.

Olivia is on stage. I know ‘Friends for Life’ is coming. That’s one she started playing on during the shows 6 mos ago. This one makes me sad. I have a dear dear friend who allowed me to turn him on to Salim (there is no greater compliment than to let me show you the music I love… then love it to). This is his favorite. My friend is in Greenland. I haven’t seen him in months.

Friends for life… if I had to sum up my time with Salim it would be with those three words. If you are lucky enough to ever be on the receiving end of Salim’s regard, you have a friend for life. Just shut up and enjoy the ride.

But then it’s time. Time to ‘Let Go’ - another song made more achingly beautiful with the deft application of Olivia’s bow.

I cry. Bitterly. Let go, he tells me, surrender to the things I can’t control. Best advice possible… I’m so far away from that right now, all I can do is feel sorry for myself.

The set is over. Back to husband in the merch nook (we’ve seen many incarnations. This one is nice. Padded booths made into their own cozy corner.)

I feel wrung out. Physically. Emotionally. An older gentleman asks me if I’m ok. Brings me water. Oh good. I look as bad as I feel.

The Deathray Davies are next. I know John Dufilho fronts this configuration, but I’ve never seen them. I also don’t know how many people are in the band. Musicians appear - to tired eyes - to swarm the stage like clowns from a tiny car.

They tear in to their first song and I like them immediately. Their energy is palpable and consuming. Nick Earl appears to be old school Seattle grunge: rakes his hands across an artfully battered Jazzmaster, long hair hanging in his face.

That energy is catching. I spy my first dancer of the evening. This woman gives no fucks and it is a scene to behold. Her shuck and jive is part Ministry of Silly Walks part scraping-gum-off-her-shoe. She gyrates with an oily self aware sensuality. At one point, her untethered breasts seem in danger of escaping. Not so fast. She doesn’t miss a beat: stuffs the offending mammary back down through the armhole of her sundress. Not today, titty.

She. Is. Magnificent.

Salim is with us at this point. I start relaying what I have seen to Doug. Salim wants in to the conversation. I smile thinking about how I will pay tribute to her, “Just getting inspired.”

It’s at this point, the night takes it’s massive, sudden toll. I’ve got a stabbing pain in the back of my head. Great. When I fantasize about death, it’s quick. I don’t want to stroke out. Here I come, it’s The Big One.

… or I’m hungry and tired and dehydrated.

Salim says it’s ok, you don’t have to stay. Marty and Olivia are already gone. The place has cleared out in a hurry. Even those disciplines of rock have to get home at a reasonable hour on a weekday. There’s work in the morning.

I hate to miss Buttercup, but I don’t think Joe will blame me for feeling poorly.

So we sneak off to the healing powers of Whataburger.

I will live to rock another day.

#singer #songwriter #salim nourallah #joe reyes #marty willson-piper #the church #john dufilho #deathray davies #buttercup #lonesome rose #honky tonk #san antonio #treefort five #jason garner #salim and the philistines #nuclear winter #album release

[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand) 

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous.  ҉   next.

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it. 

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge. 

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too. 

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view. 

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”. 

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute. 

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets. 

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance. 

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?” 

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over. 

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae. 

looking hot, her message read. 

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

#corpse husband #corpse #corpse husband x reader #corpse x reader #corpse husband imagine #corpse social media au #corpse husband fanfic #social media au #corpse husband x y/n #corpse x y/n #corpse husband fic #reader #xreader #imagine #imagines #myso #make you say oh

[chaoskirin]

Why AO3 Works and Why You Should Stay There

I’m assuming most of the people posting about what AO3 allows are children. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does explain why people don’t understand why people would defend AO3. 

It’s because any alternative site that relies on moderation of any kind for what’s allowed will become Livejournal. 

Everyone used LJ 20 years ago. Seriously, asking someone if they had a Livejournal was as common as asking someone if they had a Facebook. 

The site got huge. It was sold several times. And between owners, moderation tried to reign in what was and wasn’t allowed. 

Which was a huge undertaking. It was literally not possible for LJ to hire enough people to moderate, so they created bots which would do the work for them. “Top of the line” bots with a small margin of error. Bots that would delete the unwanted fic and allow other fics to remain. 

If you know how AI works, you know that even TODAY there is no way to program AI to do exactly what you want it to do. If you direct an AI to delete all offending fics, it will find the easiest path to success wherein it uses the least memory and resources to do so. And it WILL delete every offending fic.

It will also learn that all offending fics contain certain words. Maybe it’s the word ‘fic.’ Maybe it’s the word ‘sex.’ To make sorting the good from the bad easier, it will now discard anything that uses either of those two words. 

Now it’s got a bigger pool to learn from, the AI finds that fics that use the word ‘sex’ also sometimes use the word ‘gender.’ The AI decides that fics using the word ‘gender’ must also be deleted for being undesirable, and suddenly the AI is deleting fics about transgender characters. 

This is essentially what happened on Livejournal. You’ll sometimes still see people posting about “the great strikethrough” in which accounts that used certain words too much, even if they weren’t part of the intended purge, had their accounts suspended. Accounts that were havens for victims of abuse were deleted, for example, just because the AI found certain key words it had deemed inappropriate. 

And this happened so many times to so many people that it was impossible for the Livejournal staff to keep up with all the review requests. It would often take weeks for an account to be reinstated, and by that time, the author had moved on.

If AO3 decides to moderate more than they already do, they will never have enough volunteers to read every story that’s published. They will never be able to adequately sort through every request that comes in. Because perhaps YOU have good intentions. You will only report fics that violate the TOS. But someone else will report every fic of someone they don’t personally like, even though there’s no violation. 

This happens on Instagram. I recently helped a friend recover her account because an art thief reported the original artist for stealing art. There were not enough people to really look into whether or not the original artist was innocent, so they just suspended her account. It took WEEKS to get it back. 

This is what you’re asking for on Ao3. I know you don’t understand this, or your initial reaction is to say “that won’t happen,” but it WILL. Every time any site has gone to heavier moderation, non-offending accounts are lost in the shuffle. 

I can’t believe you didn’t learn from tumblr’s handling of banning certain images. It’s the same fucking thing. C’mon, guys. Use your heads here.

#ao3 #ao3 shit #writing related #not bestiary

[elkian]

You know, for all its flaws and faults, Tumblr at least is a social media that will never have fucking cops on it. Twitter? Cops. Facebook? Cops. Tiktok? Probably hidden behind fake or planted influencer accounts.

Tumblr doesn’t have that problem. No one is expected to share their real name or location here, and if you are, I really recommend rethinking that tbh. “Old Dogs Senior Sanctuary’s” “account” posted pics of the dogs for years only to suddenly post about getting dicked down, prompting people to reach out to the Facebook group.

Guess what?

Turns out they never had a tumblr account!

Someone successfully spoofed a fake tumblr blog for ages for the delivery of a single joke, and the ecosystem has never recovered.

A badly-faked punk band tried to start a tumblr and got bullied off in like 2 days because everyone on here has an immediate allergic reaction to being advertised to. The advertisements themselves are so fucking inscrutable that it’s impossible to tell how much actual oversight is involved. All the algorithms suck. The human pet guy’s every reblog got turned into a Kung Pow Penis chain*. A purge of NSFW content destroyed everything but the pornbots it was ostensibly enacted for the purpose of killing. I’m not even gonna go into the John Green thing.

Yeah, it’s a lawless wasteland, but it’s our lawless wasteland.

So for all its issues, we are never going to see wholeass police departments making a legitimate effort to run here, not for long. They’re guaranteed to get spammed, misdirected, swarmed by porn bots, and bullied on every goddamn post from day 1. And even if they aren’t, then what? Are they going to try and convict nameless faceless “scrunkly-fuckmeister3000″ for talking about enjoying weed, only to find out it’s a 14 year old who’s never even seen marijuana before? Get outta here.

*KPP is usually done in 1 Capital letter per reblog but for the purposes of accessibility I have skipped any attempt to copy that here.

#elk text #11th #April #2022 #April 11th 2022 #the only cops on here are self-appointed clowns #despite what we may think they are indeed the lesser evil most of the time

[agathasangel]

leave everything behind but me- part 2 (diane sherman x fem!reader)

Warnings: Same as last time, Diane is still super dangerous. TW for drugging, stalking, talk of abuse, sickness, anything else you may expect from Diane. Also no smut but there’s implied sex.

Summary: Diane started at her new job, the reader becomes suspicious that Diane may not be who she says she is but has also began to develop more romantic feelings for her as she recovers from her mysterious illness, which ends up taking a turn for the much worse.

Diane started her new job as a science teacher at the local high school, but she still made plenty of time for you. You were still not feeling much better and often felt numb from all the painkillers the woman gave you, but she said she would make a doctor’s appointment for you as soon as she could.

All the jobs that you had applied for dropped you, so you spent most of the time Diane was at school looking for new jobs to apply for. She told you not to worry about money, that the High School paid her enough to support you as well as herself, but you told her you needed to feel like an adult and she respected that.

It had been a frustrating couple of weeks, no doubt, but the nights you and Diane spent together made everything well worth it. The two of you spent every night together, just you. You would cook together, and sometimes she would take you out if you were feeling up to it. You wondered if maybe your relationship would evolve into something of a more romantic nature. Or maybe you hoped.

One day you suggested that you come to school with her to help her and get out of the house and you swore her initial reaction was one of... panic?

“No! I mean... that’s not possible, I’m sorry.”

She also seemed to be hiding her papers from you. But you saw one and you soon realized that it was because all of the homework and lab reports she graded were for “Ms. Barronway” and she introduced herself and “Diane Sherman”.

“Oh... um, well, I’m used to using Sherman, it’s my married name but since my husband is long gone, so I’ve started using my, um, maiden name, Barronway, at school.”

That made perfect sense to you in the moment, so you dropped it. You felt sorry for Diane, having lost both her husband and daughter. You were glad you could be there for her. You just hoped you could give this woman all the love that she needed.

One night you tested your luck with the older woman. You were on the couch with her late at night, watching a movie and talking and you shyly moved in to kiss her. Diane grabbed you by your waist and kissed you back, harder.

“You’re so tense, my sweet girl. Relax...” she cooed in your ear as you let her take control, and finally, lead you to her bed.

Ever since that happened, you assumed that you and Diane were officailly together. You knew it was weird because she was so much older than you, but it just felt so natural. 

“You make me feel so loved, (y/n). I’ve never really had that before.”

You also learned that Diane was horribly abused as a child, and your heart broke for her. As bad as your relationship with your own parents was, and as difficult as your own childhood was, you couldn’t even imagine what she went through. You learned all this when you saw the scars on her back one night.

“Are you disgusted?”

“No, Diane. I could never be disgusted by you.”

“You’re so wonderful, (y/n).”

“I love you, Diane. You mean so much to me.”, you said as you kissed her.

The two of you started almost exclusively sleeping in her bed. She was always very gentle when she touched you, as your body was still struggling hard to recover from whatever illness you had. While she held you at night, you heard some of her whispers to you.

"My girl. All mine.”

“I love you, Diane.”

“I love you, baby girl.” she said as she kissed your cheek and settled as the two of you started to fall back asleep.

But, unfortunately, your life with her wasn’t perfect. As you started to recover and go out more with Diane, she became increasingly possessive and jealous. There was one particular incident that happened when the two of you were at a restaurant and the waitress slipped you her phone number. She had been flirting with you for your entire meal and you tried to make it clear that you and Diane were together. She clearly wasn’t taking the hint, as she kept mistaking Diane for your mom. Diane was growing angrier and angrier by the second, until she exploded in the car.

She was yelling, “You were leading her on, it was like you wanted her to flirt with you! You were staring at her. Have you forgotten everything I had done for you? How I took you in and took care of you when you were too sick to do anything for yourself? How I support you? She couldn’t love you the way I do, no one can, do you understand, (y/n)?”

“Diane, I wasn’t doing anything! I was trying to make it clear that I’m with you. I love you Diane. I’m yours.”

“Well you weren’t doing a very good job then, were you?”, she said, with so much anger seeping in her voice. You couldn’t stand it when Diane was mad at you.

“No... I’m sorry. You’ve done everything for me, I should be more grateful, I-” you said as you began to cry.

“Hey, hey, (y/n), I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

One you got home, Diane made some tea for the both of you and curled up with you on the couch. You swore you saw her put something extra in your tea, but you were too afraid to ask her, and you thought maybe it was just the sugar or something. The tea was very sweet.

Almost as if she had put in a ton of sugar to mask the taste of something else, you thought. But no, that’s impossible. Diane loves you, she cares so much about you. She would never try and drug you, that wouldn’t make any sense!

When you woke up, you were throwing up again. Diane was right there, taking care of you, making sure you didn’t have to get out of bed because you were too weak to walk without seeing stars.

“This is my fault, (y/n).”

“Huh?”

“I think I stressed you out too much last night. I shouldn’t have yelled, I know how much that scares you. And while you weren’t fully recovered, I- the stress must have made you relapse. I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Diane said as a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks, “I’m going to dedicate myself to taking care of you. I’m going to take off work today, alright baby?”

“Thank you. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course. Anything for my girl.”

Your doubts started to clear, but there was still a little voice at the back of your mind saying 

What if?

What if she did drug you? What if she wanted to hurt you? 

And if she did, would you still be in love with her anyway?

It scared you that you knew you probably would.

She came back into the room after calling into work and you decided to just ask, “Diane, why did you pick me up?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Please, just tell me.”

“I picked you up because you looked like you needed some rest. And maybe someone to mother you for a while. It hurt me seeing you all dirty and sleep-deprived without even having money for food.”

“So you don’t like seeing me hurt?”

“Seeing you sick like this breaks my heart, (y/n). You have no idea. You’re so sweet and helpless and I love you so much.”

“And you would never hurt me?”

“Hey! Why do you think I would ever hurt you? I’m taking care of you now, why would I hurt you?”

“I- I don’t know. I don’t think you would. I’m just... scared.”

“What brought this on, sweetie?”

“I- I don’t know. Let’s just drop it, ok? I love you, Diane, that’s all that matters.”

“Right. I love you, (y/n), baby. I’m going to get you something to eat that’ll be easy on your stomach, ok?”

“Thanks, Diane. I love you.”

Her laptop was on the bed, and you took it to google your symptoms. The browser was open to facebook, and before you could change it you noticed that Diane had two accounts.

And then you saw that the second account belonged to Anna, the girl you planned on moving in with. You gasped and shut the laptop quickly, not wanting to believe any of the implications of what you saw. You were so shocked, and started to feel lightheaded.

And when Diane walked in, she saw you blacked out.

#sarah paulson #diane sherman #diane sherman x reader #sarah paulson x reader #sarah paulson fics #my fics

[tomorrowimjustdirt]

On the morning of June 30, 2011 trash collectors were making their rounds through Macon, Georgia. When arriving at an apartment complex near Mercer University the sanitation employee found a police cruiser blocking the dumpster. Giving a wave to the officer, the truck was turned around and the worker went on to his next stop.

The police were brought to the quaint complex at the behest of Ashley Morehouse. Morehouse's close friend 27 year old, criminal law graduate, Lauren Giddings hadn't been heard from in four days. Before calling police Morehouse went in to Giddings apartment and found nothing out of place or missing, except for Lauren. Morehouse and Giddings parents, who lived in Baltimore, MD, along with Giddings boyfriend stated that Lauren had been studying for her Georgia State Bar exam and wished to not be bothered.

Once police arrived a search of Lauren's apartment was conducted. At first glance police agreed with Morehouse that everything looked normal, however, once luminol was sprayed in the bathroom that determination changed. The entire bathroom it seemed, had been doused with blood.

The dumpster in the complex was also being searched at this time. A black garbage bag stood out amongst the others, inside a womans torso was found.

While this search was going on, a neighbor was speaking of great concern for her whereabouts while being interviewed for a local news station. During the interview, Stephen McDaniel was asked if he had heard a body was found in the dumpster. McDaniel was visibly shocked stating he needed to sit down.

Upon further searching, detectives found a hack saw and a bloody bed sheet in the community laundry room Detectives later made their way into Stephen McDaniel's apartment. In there they found a master key that opened any door in the apartment building. He stated that he only used them twice, to go into two apartments to steal condoms. Also found was the package for the hack saw and a pair of Lauren's underwear.

McDaniel was taken in for a lengthy questioning lead by two Macon County detectives. Throughout the entire interrogation McDaniel seemed almost in a catatonic state, rarely moving his body, refusing food, and answering only "yes", "no", and "I don't know".

It was put together through further searching of his computer that McDaniel had been stalking Giddings for some time. Photos and videos taken outside her window of her were found as well as many searches of her Facebook account. Child pornography was also found on the computer.

McDaniel was charged with murder and 30 counts of sexual exploitation towards children.

Once in court, McDaniel plead guilty and requested that the charges of sexual exploitation of children be dropped as long as he told the courts what actually happened to Giddings.

Then he began recounting that awful night.

He states around 4:30 a.m. on June 26, 2011 he entered Giddings apartment with the master key, clad in black clothes and wearing a mask, and watched her sleep for awhile. He made a movement causing the floor to creak, waking Lauren. Once she saw McDaniel she yelled at him, "get out!" McDaniel then jumped on top of Lauren, strangling her. Lauren fought with McDaniel and ripped off the mask he wore. She screamed, "Stephen! Please stop!"

In the struggle the two fell off the bed, making it impossible for Lauren to keep fighting.

After 15 minutes, Lauren was dead.

McDaniel pulled Giddings in to her bathtub, where he left her and returned to his own apartment for the next several hours. When he arrived back in Lauren's apartment, McDaniel proceeded to decapitate her with the hack saw. He also states he cut all of her fingers off and flushed them down the toilet. McDaniel dismembered the rest of Giddings body, putting different parts in separate trash bags. The remains were taken to several dumpsters around town, unabled to be recovered because of the time frame, except for her torso.

The courts were ruling towards the death penalty for Stephen McDaniel but, instead he was sentenced to life in prison. This was due only to the fact Lauren Giddings family stated Lauren did not believe in the death penalty and would not approve of that sentencing.

#true crime #true crime community #lauren giddings #stephen mcdaniel #crime

[newstfionline]

Friday, February 5, 2021

Canada puts Proud Boys on terror list, cites active security threat (Reuters) Canada named the far-right Proud Boys a terrorist entity on Wednesday, saying it posed an active security threat and played a “pivotal role” in last month’s attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. Although the Proud Boys have never mounted an attack in Canada, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said domestic intelligence forces had become increasingly worried about the group. The group’s assets can now be frozen by banks and financial institutions, and it is a crime for Canadians to knowingly deal with assets of a listed entity. Anyone belonging to the group can be blocked from entering Canada. The move underscored constitutional concerns about a Canadian government’s ability to designate a group as a terrorist entity, said Leah West, a national security professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University and former lawyer with the Canadian justice department. Designations are impossible to challenge beforehand and difficult to address afterward, especially given lawyers may be reluctant to provide counsel to members of a terrorist group, she said by phone.

US to cut off support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen amid humanitarian crisis (Guardian) The US has announced an end to its support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, citing the role the bombing campaign has had in creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The announcement was made byJoe Biden during a visit to the state department, capping a whiplash fortnight of dramatic foreign policy changes since his 20 January inauguration. “This war has to end,” Biden said. “And to underscore our commitment, we’re ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” The distancing of Washington from Riyadh is one of the most conspicuous reversals of Donald Trump’s agenda, but it also marks a break with the policies pursued by Barack Obama, who had backed the Saudi offensive in Yemen, although he later sought to impose constraints on its air war. The US will also freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and name a special envoy to Yemen, to put more pressure on the Saudis, Emiratis and the Houthi forces they are fighting, to make a lasting peace agreement.

Capt. Tom’s legacy lives on (AP) The legacy of Capt. Tom Moore, the super fundraiser who died Tuesday of COVID-19, lives on in others. Capt. Tom, a World War II veteran recovering from a broken hip, set out to raise 1,000 pounds ($1,400) by walking 100 laps of his back garden before his 100th birthday last April. Three weeks later, he had raised 33 million pounds ($45 million) for Britain’s NHS after his quest cheered a nation in lockdown and triggered donations from around the world. But he also made a broader impact as his simple challenge—to do whatever you can to help others—persuaded the young it’s never too soon to start, and the old that it’s never too late. Take Margaret Payne, 90, who walked up the stairs in her home 282 times to raise 416,000 pounds for the NHS. Payne, from Ardvar in the Scottish Highlands, calculated that the feat was the equivalent of climbing 731 meters (2,398 feet), or the height of Suilven, one of Scotland’s best known mountains that she scaled when she was 15. And then there’s Tony Hudgell, a 5-year-old who lost both legs after being abused as a baby, set out to walk 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and raise 500 pounds for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. After completing the challenge in a series of daily walks he had attracted more than 1 million pounds of donations. “Captain Sir Tom inspired so many people to take on their own extraordinary challenges, from running marathons to swimming lakes, and he gave us all hope,” said Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together.

How a Bavarian supermarket is helping shoppers find love amid shutdown (The Local/Germany) Can you find love while shopping in Germany? For many, a supermarket may be just about the least likely place for a starry eyed encounter. An Edeka supermarket in the Bavarian town of Volkach, however, is trying to break through barriers amid the coronavirus crisis: every Friday evening has been set aside for “singles shopping.” Every Friday between 6 and 8pm, singles can grab a heart with a number on it at the entrance and stick it on their jacket. If they spot someone they fancy amid the shelves, they can opt to have that person’s number called out at the checkout. Those who are a bit more bashful can simply leave their phone number with a message. For this purpose, slips of paper are laid out on which the type of contact can be ticked off, such as: “I’d be happy to meet you for an orange juice in the fruit department.” “Nothing has taken off yet,” a butcher’s assistant told Bavarian news website Merkur amid a display of schnitzel and minced meat. “At least not here by the meat, but maybe in another department.”

Mountain heartbreak: Italy has deep snow, closed ski resorts (AP) The granite peaks that majestically encircle the northern Italian town of Cortina d’Ampezzo glimmer with one of the most prolific snowfalls in years, while the COVID-19 pandemic silences Italy’s winter resorts. Italy’s 2019-2020 ski season closed unexpectedly early last March, when the country became the first Western country pummeled by the pandemic. A new season has yet to launch, unlike in neighboring Switzerland, which in December allowed lifts to open with restrictions, or in Austria, where residents still can ski. France’s ski lifts remain closed at least through February. In Italy, the pandemic-related closures are a hit to an industry that generates 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in annual revenues and employs 5,000 permanent and 10,000 seasonal workers, according to the association of ski lift operators, ANEF. The association said last year’s early end to the season led to a 20% revenue decline and called the current season a total loss. Factoring in hotels, restaurants and other services, the ski industry generates 11 billion euros ( $13.2 billion) in annual revenues, but travel restrictions have kept activity near zero on top of the stilled lifts.

Twitter Unblocked Accounts That Criticized India’s Government. Now, Its Employees Are Being Threatened With Jail Time Unless It Blocks Them Again. (BuzzFeed News) India’s government has threatened to punish employees at Twitter with fines and jail terms of up to seven years for restoring hundreds of accounts it has ordered the company to block. Most accounts were critical of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. On Monday, Twitter complied with the government’s order and prevented people in India from viewing more than 250 accounts belonging to activists, political commentators, a movie star, and the Caravan, an investigative news magazine. Most accounts had criticized Modi, India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, and his government. But the company restored the accounts approximately six hours later after a Twitter lawyer met with IT ministry officials, and argued that the tweets and accounts constituted free speech and were newsworthy. India’s government disagreed. On Tuesday, the IT ministry sent a notice to Twitter, ordering it to block the accounts once again. It also threatened people who work at Twitter’s Indian arm with legal consequences, which could include a fine or a jail term of up to seven years. “This is really problematic,” said Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama, a technology policy website, and an internet activist. “I don’t see why the government of India should wade into this territory of trying to censor tweets when they have much bigger problems to deal with.”

Myanmar charges Suu Kyi, giving legal basis to detain her (AP) Police leveled their first formal charge against Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, her allies said Wednesday, accusing the ousted leader of possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies and giving the military authorities who staged a coup a legal reason to detain her for two weeks. The charge came to light two days after Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest and appeared to be an effort to lend a legal veneer to her detention, though the generals have previously kept her and others locked up for years. The military announced Monday that it would take power for one year—accusing Suu Kyi’s government of not investigating allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. Suu Kyi’s party swept that vote, and the military-backed party did poorly.

Myanmar blocks Facebook as resistance grows to coup (AP) Myanmar’s new military government has blocked access to Facebook as resistance to Monday’s coup surged amid calls for civil disobedience to protest the ousting of the elected civilian government and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Facebook is especially popular in Myanmar and the ousted government had commonly made public announcements on the social media site. Internet users said the disruption began late Wednesday night, and mobile service provider Telenor Myanmar confirmed in a statement that mobile operators and internet service providers in Myanmar had received a directive from the communications ministry to temporarily block Facebook. The political party ousted in Monday’s coup and other activists in Myanmar have called for a campaign of civil disobedience to oppose the takeover. In the vanguard are medical personnel, who have declared they won’t work for the military government and who are highly respected for their work during the coronavirus pandemic that is taxing the country’s dangerously inadequate health system. For a second night Wednesday, residents in Yangon engaged in “noise protests,” with people banging pots and pans and honking car horns under cover of darkness.

Japan’s population decline (Nikkei Asian Review) Japan’s population shrank by a record 420,000 people last year, government estimates show, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to an influx of foreign workers that had helped offset the country’s ongoing natural population decline. The total fell for a 12th straight year, shattering the previous record of 329,000 set just a year earlier. The health ministry estimates Japan’s population at 125.57 million as of Jan. 1, based on confirmed data through July and estimates based on births, deaths and foreign arrival and departure data. The drop owes in large part to a 60% plunge in foreign arrivals that has kept the labor market tight even though the pandemic has slowed the economy and eliminated many jobs.

In Iraq’s ‘Dire’ Economy, Poverty Is Rising—And So Are Fears Of Instability (NPR) With the gold domes of the famed Kadhimiya shrine as a backdrop, nearby streets full of shops, markets and tea-sellers in Baghdad look bustling and vibrant, even at night. Tempting windows display sparkly clothes and cascades of candy in rainbow colors. But shopkeepers say no one has been buying much since Iraq devalued its dinar against the dollar last year. Around the world, economies have been crushed by the pandemic. The International Monetary Fund reported in October that most Mideast economies plunged into recession. But some places are especially vulnerable, among them Iraq. Its economy depends overwhelmingly on oil exports, and as travel halted and demand for fuel dwindled, government revenues tumbled along with oil prices. Government revenues plummeted by 47.5% in the first eight months of last year, the World Bank reports. With drastically less oil revenue, the government has been paying its salaries and pensions intermittently or not at all. Economists say Iraq’s poverty rate may have shot up from 20% in 2018 to 30% or more last year. To try to make it easier to pay those salaries, as well to encourage people to buy domestically instead of relying on imports, the government devalued the dinar against the dollar by about 20% in December. But as Iraq produces very little, people have little choice but to buy imported goods—which are only more expensive now. “Iraq’s economic situation can probably best be described as being dire,” says Ali al-Saffar of the International Energy Agency.

Beirut blast victims want the truth (AP) Days after a massive explosion ripped through Beirut’s port and disfigured the Lebanese capital, family members of some of the 211 people killed in the blast demanded an international probe. It was a swift vote of no confidence in the authorities’ ability to investigate one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and one of the nation’s most traumatic experiences. The skepticism was justified. Lebanon, a country wrought by political violence and assassinations, has a history of unfinished prosecutions and buried secrets. Six months after the Aug. 4 blast, the domestic investigation has been brought to a virtual halt by the same political and confessional rivalries that thwarted past attempts to uncover the truth in major crimes. Lebanon’s sectarian-based political factions have had a lock on power in the country for decades and have divvied up posts across the state among themselves. Though rivals, they have a common interest in preventing accountability. Aya Majzoub of Human Rights Watch said a U.N. fact-finding mission is needed. “We can’t rest our hope and faith on a broken system that has proven incredibly resilient. We can’t expect the very people who are implicated in these crimes and other big crimes in Lebanon to lead reform.”

In thrice-demolished village, a Mideast battle of wills (AP) It looks like the aftermath of a tornado. There are dirt plots where there used to be makeshift homes; tent poles stacked like firewood; fencing and scrap metal scattered across a desert valley greened by winter rain; a cold firepit and a pile of kitchen essentials where a cooking tent once stood. This is what remains of the herding community of Khirbet Humsu in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli forces demolished it for the third time in as many months. On Wednesday, just minutes after the army left, Palestinian residents were at work repairing their fences—hoping to gather their sheep before dark, knowing the army might return the next day. “We build it up and they tear it down,” said Waleed Abu al-Kbash as he stretched fencing between two posts. “Where am I supposed to go? I have a thousand head of sheep.” Khirbet Humsu, perched on the rolling highlands above the Jordan Valley, is part of the 60% of the West Bank known as Area C, which is under full Israeli military control as part of interim peace agreements from the 1990s. Israel planned to annex the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank last year after getting a green light from the Trump administration, but it put annexation on hold as part of a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates. It still maintains complete control over the territory, leaving Bedouin communities like the one at Khirbet Humsu at constant risk of displacement. Shepherds who rely on seasonal rains and scattered springs are also at the mercy of an arbitrary cycle of demolition and rebuilding.

Innovation (Bloomberg) South Korea returned to first place in the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index, while the U.S. dropped out of a top 10 that features a cluster of European countries. Korea regained the crown from Germany, which dropped to fourth place. The Asian nation has now topped the index for seven of the nine years that it’s been published. Singapore and Switzerland each moved up one spot to rank second and third.

#headlines #news

[the16livesofadam]

covid-19

have you actually met or interacted with ANYONE who has had the COVID-19 infection? do you know of anyone who has died? not someone who knows someone on facebook whose mom died or whose sister overcame it or tom hanks....i mean have you physically met ANYONE who has been tested for this, tested positive, and then has either passed away and been given the official cause of death as this virus, or who has completely recovered? i mean, someone you KNOW, or YOU, and i am dead serious.

the reason i ask is based on a few specfic aspects of this unprecedented pandemic:

1. i have never know the republicans to pass any type of free financial windfall without any concern for how we will ever pay back that money because we cannot ...with the democrats and the republicans fasttracking this free money windfall after shutting down everything else and keeping us hostage in our homes out of hyped up media generated fears that stripped us of the few remaining civil rights left after the whole 9/11. they do not believe in giving us free money. wtf.

2. this has caused 22 million people to be unemployed and while this is beyond a recession= i worrry by far more about the fact that the stock market has virtually been stalled and destroyed by a fucking FLU- and while it is obvious that there are deaths that are occuring- it is strange that there are no new cases of pnemonia and in many regions every death has been accounted for as a virus related death regardless of underlying conditions such as heart failure and strokes and advancing age. it has made normal, american citizens who would at least question such insane measures hoard tp and hand sanitizer and invent social distancing and self-quarentines that finally see everyone has having the potential to spread deadly germs- yet we will continue to see new transmissions of the deadly HIV virus that will happen from people not using protection - strange. but we will make masks fashionable this season- which will do nothing to save us from GETTING COVID_19. only from GIVING it away if we already have it!

3. there are TONS of people who have been getting the impression that this crisis was invented or aggravated to create the smokescreen for a much larger, impactful problem that we will face that is being hidden from view due to the potential unrest that may arise were it made known that, say, a potential end of the world scenario is about to occur- which we can aliviate only with a few orders to stay at home with family in these last days and use the money they give us as a parting gift on our way out- because really- how does this make sense to rational people? i understand that it is hard to avoid the 99% of the media is being inundated with every single type of theory, news articles, opionion, stats, etc that make it impossible to avoid this nonsense. i have friends who work in the medical field and pals that are sensative to ANY type of human issues that call for a libral, empathic voice to stick up for the little people who might fall victim to this wretched virus- and who are impacted heavily from the heart strings news stories they have running past them at a million miles an hour on facebook and other time killing social media sites. they will not have many good things to say about the idea that it is not very real and killing many people at a rate faster than in any other type of disease since the spanish flu or other major plauges that wipe out folks every hundred years or so. of course we were due some population control, and this was bound to happen since we were warned in the bible of such things, but to make it keep us from living the rest of our lives in any way that provides us any joy, or friendship, or makes us isolate and hide indoors and live in fear?

fuck that means i would be dead already, right?

#covid-19 #modesto california #modesto #conspiracy #stimulus #gurlthinktankinc #ecesllc #mcaa #social distancing #social isolation #cornovirus #diy #punk rock #president trump #end of the world #armagedom #antichrist #illuminati

[coolpandaobject-blog]

How to View Private Snapchat Story in 2020

In this 21st century, Snapchat is Booming like never before. Every day, has pioneered new ways to interact with photos, videos, and other users, as well as new formats for advertisers, to reach customers. The company, which rebuffed a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013, is on track to generate $1 billion in revenue next year, according to the investment bank Jefferies. Snap, the company that runs the social media service How to View Private Snapchat Story .Snapchat Account View Private Snapchat Story soared in its initial public offering, setting the company up as the most valuable American technology company to go public since Facebook. Snapchat lets users send messages to one another that disappears within seconds. You have to know your friend’s user name to send a message, which makes Snapchat a place where people tend to connect with those they know. Social Media is the latest platform taking the social media world by storm.  Recover Snapchat AccountThe Venice, California-based company now boasts over 161 million daily active users and 10 billion video views, daily.

How to View Private Snapchat Story?

Users of Snapchat can hide their posts from the public by going to their settings, then to the “Who Can” section of the settings menu.These settings exist for a reason. In most cases, finding a way around these blockades is impossible. Numerous websites claim to be able to give you the ability to view a private Snapchat story or account. These are all scams and can waste your time at the best, and compromise your personal information at the worst.  Although it may not seem safe, Snapchat gives users a larger degree of control over the content they share relative to other social networks. Users can choose precisely who can view their snaps, the amount of time they can see them, if their snaps can be replayed or not, and configure many other specific settings. It is important to recollect that more people have access to your photos than you’ll think and to only send questionable content over a 100% secure platform. Be careful what you post online!Suppose your account was hacked the recovering the account will be difficult. The difficulty depends on the changes the hacker has made to the hacker. If you can still access the account (if your email has not been changed), then changing the password will be the easiest option. Contact Snapchat Help, fill up an account recovery form and hope they recover the account for you. How To Secure Your Snapchat Account? While the big corporations will always try their best to secure their platforms,

About

It’s headed by co-founder Evan Spiegel. This way of temporary nature of the app was originally designed to encourage a more natural flow of interaction. One last thing: Snapchat’s View Private Snapchat Story developer is a public company, called Snap How to View Private Snapchat Story. It claims to be a camera company. It creates other products, including Software , hardware, like Snapchat Spectacles, which you can read all about from here. Also, Snapchat is colloquially referred to as Snap.

Conclusion

On your Profile screen, tap it to access your Snapchat account settings, where you can link your Bitmoji account, manage on-demand geofilters, create or scan a Snapcode, add two factors, adjust your Memories, Spectacles, and Shazam preferences, change your password and phone number, and so much more.

Hint: Remember to use reliable and secure passwords and refrain from sharing your passwords. Security is best when done personally.

[rachelroams]

COVID-19 "ASK ME ANYTHING”

Are we permitted to share your story?

Go for it! I have made all posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter public so that sharing is easy.

Can you make your story shareable off-platform?

You got it. Because you’ve requested to share with people who are not on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, I’ve published this shareable, blog-style version of my experience: https://bit.ly/Covid19RRTumblr.

What do you think the incubation period was from when you got coronavirus to when you started actually seeing symptoms?

Tough to say. According to the CDC, symptoms can take between 2-14 days to appear, “with a median time of 4-5 days from exposure to symptoms onset.” My symptoms appeared on March 14th, but I could have been exposed anytime between March 5-12 during my travels on the East Coast. My incubation period was therefore somewhere between 2 to 9 days.

Do you have any idea where specifically you might have gotten Covid? Does anyone stand out as sick from your travels?

Unfortunately, I don’t know. I could have caught the virus as soon as I stepped off the plane in NYC on March 5th, or it could have been during my final flight back to PDX on Mar 12th. I don’t recall anyone appearing worryingly ill along the way.

Did you contact people you encountered to warn them you might have Covid-19, or was it too late?

As soon as I was administered the Covid-19 test on March 19th, I reached out to the colleagues I had worked with over the last week and a half to let them know of my potential exposure to coronavirus. This was perhaps the scariest part of my journey: informing people I know and love that I may have contracted the virus during our time together.

What supplies do you suggest people have on hand in case they get sick? // What essentials made you more comfortable?

To navigate my individual list of symptoms, I needed an ample supply of the following:

Acetaminophen for pain and fever relief

Daytime cough suppressant (dextromethorphan-based for dry cough)

Nighttime cough suppressant (dextromethorphan-based for dry cough + sedating antihistamine diphenhydramine or doxylamine for sleep aid)

Cough drops (natural herb with menthol)

Hydration (Gatorade, chamomile tea with honey and lemon, broths [miso and bouillon])

My husband and I noted my symptoms three times per day to watch for any changes—once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before bed. In order to keep detailed records, we needed:

Thermometer

Note pad

Pen

Due to my high fever, it was impossible to regulate my body temperature. I fluctuated between very hot and very cold, including sweating and shivering. Three things that made this experience more bearable were:

Stockpile of clean, dry changes of clothes (mostly pajamas)

Pile of blankets I could throw on or off

Occasional soak in hot water (standing shower avoided due to weakness and potential for dizziness/falling)

Did you change your eating and drinking habits while you were sick? If so, how? // What did you feel like eating?

I lost my appetite completely when I was sick, so the main concern became keeping hydrated. During that time, I subsisted on water, Gatorade, chamomile tea with honey and lemon, and bouillon and miso broth. I also nibbled away at the occasional cake cookie, inspired by bingeing The Great British Baking Show.

Once I began recovering, a friend sent me this personal account of Covid-19, which was published in Bon Appetit. I think it’s a helpful guide, and wish I’d read it before I fell ill:

“What I Wish I Did: A Guide to Getting Through Covid-19 Alone”

What was your favorite escape? A good book? Video games?

When I was sickest, there was little I could do but lie still and seek distraction from my condition. Reading, gaming, moving, and even talking presented too much of a challenge, so I spent my days catching up on shows and movies I usually don’t have the time to watch. Favorite escapes included:

Great British Baking Show, Love is Blind, Call the Midwife – Netflix

Counterpart, The Expanse – Amazon

Harry Potter, Hook, A Little Princess, essentially any content from happier times

Did you stay isolated from your partner the whole time? // What precautions did you take to keep each other safe? // Did your husband ever develop symptoms? // Was he able to get tested?

When I first got back from my work trip on the East Coast, my husband and I decided to self-isolate together for 14 days in case I had brought any illnesses home. We did not think I would actually get sick—we simply figured we were taking precautions to protect others “in case.”

Unfortunately, we did not start isolating from one another until I was already ill with Covid-19. In hindsight, we should have isolated from one another as soon as I got home, knowing that no matter how young and healthy we figured I was, I could still pose a risk in the days to come.

Thankfully, Todd never developed symptoms. As a result, he was not eligible for a Covid-19 test where we are. That said, we believe he was likely a “silent carrier” who contracted the virus but did not show symptoms.

Would you know if your symptoms would be classified as mild, medium or severe? I’ve read that 80% of people experience no symptoms to mild symptoms, but wondering what mild even means.

Based on the severity of my symptoms, my case would be classified as somewhere between mild and moderate. Severe to critical cases, according to the CDC, involve: dyspnea (difficulty breathing without assistance via supplemental oxygen or a ventilator), hypoxia (deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching tissues), respiratory failure, shock, multi-organ failure.

Did you get a flu shot last year?

I did get a flu shot in fall 2019. It did not prevent transmission of Covid-19.

Was there ever any thought or conversation about requesting hydroxychloroquine?

There was not.

In your opinion, what do you think happened to your test?

I wish I knew. Since sharing my story, I have heard from a number of people regarding missing tests across the country. Below are just a couple of those messages.

“I know someone in Texas whose test also went missing.”

“Sadly, you are not the first (nor would I guess, the last) person I have heard of whose test swabs went missing or got separated from documentation so that results will never come.” 

If your test got lost, does that mean you were counted in the statistics of Covid-19 cases?

Because my test was lost, my case is not counted in official statistics.

Did they not offer to re-test you after your test was lost?

They did not offer to re-test me. Since I was informed that my swab was missing 13 days after I took the test, new tests were being given to patients who needed them most at that time.

Have your doctors given you any advice on what to expect in the short and long term as you continue to improve?

This virus is so unfamiliar that no one really knows what to expect. I was advised to stay home, rest, and recover in isolation. Here’s a new NYTimes piece on the subject:

“We Need to Talk About What Coronavirus Recoveries Look Like: They’re a lot more complicated than most people realize”

Was there anything you did in terms of physical exercise that you feel helped with recovery, or did you feel that rest helped more?

Rest, rest, and more rest. It has been over a month since I first experienced symptoms, and I’m not yet back on the horse when it comes to exercise. Normally, I work out 5-6 days a week. Right now, I’m just doing my best to listen to what my body’s requesting, and that is time and space to recuperate.

Are you okay now?

I'm finding that my recovery ebbs and flows. Some days, I feel mostly normal again, and some days I feel so low on strength and energy that I just want to sleep for a couple days straight.  Whatever the day brings, I’m doing my best to trust the healing process, and remember how hard my body has been fighting to defeat this unfamiliar threat.

When you think about it, it’s amazing that the human form is figuring out how to fight something both brutal and completely new to our species. I find that inspiring.

Would you consider donating plasma for the Covid antibodies once you’re well enough?

Absolutely. I am already registered with the Red Cross to donate. They will contact me as soon as antibodies tests are available.  

Have you reached out to news orgs with your story?

I have not. My main goal with sharing my story was to help others feel better informed, or more likely to stay home, or even just like this virus now has a face and is therefore more real to them. That said, if any of you would like to share my story with outlets for further publication, please let me know. I am happy to consider sharing anywhere that my story can be of service to people.

Do you think it has influenced your lifestyle or approach to life in the coming years?

Fascinating question! It’s probably too early to tell what long-term effects this virus may have on a person’s life—mine included. However, I do know that this slowed-down moment in time has offered me the invitation to take each day as it comes. It has presented me the gift of perspective. And it has reminded me that joy lives not in what we accomplish each day, but rather how present we are while we’re living it.

************

RESOURCES & CONTINUED LEARNING

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

WHO: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

JHU: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

[famoidtechnology1]

Instagram Account After Hack Retrieving Process - 2020 Updated

Have you ever experienced any sort of hacking attempt? Perhaps, not in most of the cases though If your Instagram account has been hacked then you indeed very much in a critical situation as the hacker can do anything with your account. Anything here means whatever he/she wants to: downloading the images and potentially make illegal use of it, or might post content on your account and badly influence your following.

Whatever may be the case, you must act fast in order to recover your hacked account as very much is at stake here there. Though the process is a little bit tricky recovering a badly hacked account perhaps will be a little difficult but not impossible.

In the process of recovering your account, you must be aware of the severity of the case as there is a certain level that should have to follow courtesy to the hacker as they have got the password of the same.

And the severe problem could arise when you cannot log in to your account and your email address & keeping that in mind we have the right solutions for you.

There always going to be two conditions:

1.      If you can log in to your account

2.      If you cannot log into your account

As stated we got a complete guide to tackle the same that you can review here.

https://famoid.com/how-to-recover-a-hacked-instagram/

What could be the best possible solution? Slightly, it could be to reach out to Instagram directly as they got further advanced options for you. Even, if you have linked your Instagram account on Facebook, then Facebook can help you to recover it.

On final as confirmation, Instagram also sends a text message to the owners who have provided the phone number for recovering the account.

 Recovering a hacked account is not difficult, however, the condition that have to follow is that your account should have to be there. If the Instagram account is once deleted it can never be recovered. In order to make your account secure, you can turn on the two-factor authentication option that Instagram provides. It will require your phone number and a code will be texted to you whenever you log in with a new device.

Meantime, If you are looking to get a real likes on Instagram, then visit us!

#Cheap Instagram likes

[kanasmusings]

[Translation] Final SERVAMP Quest Vol. 2

Here’s the 2nd volume of Final SERVAMP Quest! Please go to the Servamp - French facebook account for the download link ^^ 

※ Please don’t re-post the English translations without permission.

Under the cut, enjoy~

Final Servamp Quest Vol. 2 Translations

KURO: The world has been under the control of the dark Demon Lord Tsubaki.

KURO: The sky looks like it will always rain and it’s been impossible to air laundry out.

KURO: And all the convenience stores… All they sell are green tea-flavored stuff…

KURO: In order to correct this world, the housewife who hits his laundry to dry with wild abandon—ah, no, the chosen hero Mahiru decided to fight back.

(triumphant fanfare)

MAHIRU: WAIT A SECOND!!

KURO: What is it, Hero Mahiru?

MAHIRU:  Who the hell’s a hero?! Isn’t that supposed to be you?! Why are you suddenly avoiding it?

KURO: “Adventures of Hero Mahiru” is written on the title, you know?

KURO: Naturally, we have to stick with that.

MAHIRU: Then, don’t make fun of the hero from the beginning!

MAHIRU: Monthly Comic Gene, special drama CD: SERVAMP.

KURO: Final SERVAMP Quest: Adventures of Hero Mahiru – Vol. 2

(8-bit music)

MAHIRU: Pretending as if Vol. 1 never happened, me, Kuro, Licht-san, and Lawless went to defeat the Demon Lord Tsubaki but…

KURO: How troublesome… Can’t we just return to the first village we came from and laze about playing games?

MAHIRU: Shut it! Isn’t it better to get this over with fast?

MAHIRU: Um… First is… let’s check our roles…

MAHIRU: I’m the hero and Lawless is…?

HYDE: A swordsman~! A huge sword might be more helpful with attack points but, the super stylish Lawless-chan fights with a thin saber that matches with his outfit~!

MAHIRU: (in an uninterested tone) Ah, sure, sure. I’m expecting a lot from you.

HYDE: (dejected) I got passed over by Shirota Mahiru…

MAHIRU: Kuro is?

KURO: A healing cat-vampire.

MAHIRU: You’re gonna bring your role from the main show here?!

KURO: Ah, no, I just thought that it would be good to keep something the same. If we keep doing parodies like these, someone might forget [our real roles].

MAHIRU: Well, you have a point but… that’ll make things complicated here so it’s rejected!

KURO: Guess I have no choice… Then, I’ll be a gambler.

MAHIRU: I feel like you’re not really serious but… (grunts) Fine, that’s good enough.

MAHIRU: Then, Licht-san is…? Going with how you look… Are you a magician?

LICHT: I’m an angel.

MAHIRU: Eh?

LICHT: To be more accurate, I’m a saint sent down from Heaven above in order to purge earth from evil.

LICHT: An angel.

MAHIRU: That’s long…!

KURO: I haven’t heard of “angel” as an RPG class though…

LICHT: Naturally. An angel is a one-of-a-kind existence.

HYDE: Ah~! A saint sent from above! Does that mean you can purify evil or something~?

LICHT: A shitty rat like you should just die horribly with despair and regret deep in your heart.

HYDE: How rude! Is that what an angel would say?!

LICHT: You should be grateful that you can still talk to an angel like me, you stupid rat.

HYDE: Ah-ah~ Is it time to punish this angel who’s getting cocky?

LICHT: Bring it on. I’ll send you back to hell.

MAHIRU: WAIT! Licht-san, Lawless, please calm down. Hey, Kuro, help me stop—

KURO: Good luck, Hero Mahiru.

MAHIRU: At least help a little!!

(more 8-bit music and a monster growl)

MAHIRU: Ah! Something appeared while we were arguing! An enemy monster!!

(monster attacks and hits Hyde)

KURO: A direct attack…?!

HYDE: (groans) You’re pretty good for a lowlife monster.

MAHIRU: He got some damage…! Licht-san, please heal him with your magic!

LICHT: There’s no need.

MAHIRU: Pardon?!

LICHT: I will exorcise all evil.

LICHT: Take this! Dynamic Angel Kick!

(Licht hits the monster and victory fanfare plays)

HYDE: In the end, it’s no different from his usual attack patterns…

KURO: That’s got nothing to do with angels…

(triumphant 8-bit music)

MAHIRU: Oh, the monster dropped something.

MAHIRU: I wonder what this bottle’s for… It’s got something green in it. Green tea juice…? Or maybe not.

MAHIRU: Ah, it says “healing potion” on the label…

HYDE: Okie-dokie~ I’ll be taking that! (Hyde grabs the bottle)

MAHIRU: Eh?

HYDE: Since it looks like there’s no one here who can use healing magic, we’ll have to heal ourselves with items!

(Hyde opens the bottle)

HYDE: Thanks for the potion~ (Hyde starts drinking)

MAHIRU: You’re gonna drink it now?!

(Hyde spits the drink out)

KURO: How nasty…

HYDE: Disgusting…! What the heck’s this? It’s so bad!

HYDE: I was prepared for a bitter taste but this doesn’t taste like medicine at all!

HYDE: It totally tastes like grass, bwehh…! (coughing)

MAHIRU: Ugh…! That smells so bad…

LICHT: (pinching his nose) Don’t come any closer, you fugitive rat.

KURO: (pinching his nose) It’s true that just speaking lets a bad smell out.

KURO: Let’s stay away from him for a while.

HYDE: Uwah…! How absolutely mean of you! Is this how you treat a person who will help you defeat the Demon Lord?!

MAHIRU: (pinching his nose) No… You’re the one who took it first, you know…?

  ***

 (8-bit music accompanied by fighting sound effects)

(fighting and victory fanfare keeps repeating for a few times)

HYDE: Ah… geez, there’s no end to them…

LICHT: It’s one demon after another…!

MAHIRU: At this rate… We’ll all be defeated before we even reach the Demon Lord…! What should we…?

KURO: You leave me no choice… Now that it’s come to this…!

MAHIRU: Did you think of something, Kuro?

KURO: I didn’t really… want to use this technique…!

KURO: But, if it’s to protect you guys, I…!

HYDE: Don’t tell me…! Is it a technique where you sacrifice yourself so that your allies can get away?!

LICHT: What did you say?!

MAHIRU: No! I won’t let you sacrifice yourself, Kuro—

KURO: Don’t stop me, Mahiru! This is the only way I know to save you all…!

MAHIRU: Stop, Kuro!

HYDE: Nii-san!

KURO: Ultimate Technique!

KURO: Command: Choose escape!

MAHIRU: Eh?

HYDE: Eh? WHAT?!

KURO: (sighs) We escaped successfully.

MAHIRU: You were just gonna run away?! Give me back that serious conversation now!

LICHT: An angel like me running away…?! I got swayed by the demons…?!

KURO: In any case, we escaped a difficult situation.

KURO: Be grateful for my decision.

HYDE: Well, you have a point. In any case, if we keep fighting those hordes of enemies, we’ll never reach the Demon Lord’s Palace.

MAHIRU: That’s true but, we need to raise our levels, right?!

HYDE: Can’t we just raise our levels by cheating, though?

KURO: You know, like spinning a gacha for levels using money or something.

MAHIRU: This can’t be resolved with money!

MAHIRU: Look, Licht-san’s still brooding over running away. Take responsibility and do something!

KURO: Guess I have no choice… (Kuro transforms into a cat)

KURO: Be healed by my cute appearance~

LICHT: Mr. Cat…?! MR. CAT! Are you going to heal me? (Licht hugs cat Kuro)

HYDE: (quietly, to Mahiru) Ah… He’s recovered… As expected from a simple-minded angel.

LICHT: Mr. Cat~

MAHIRU: (quietly, to Hyde) He’ll get mad at you if he heard that.

HYDE: That’s why I’m saying it quietly so he can’t hear.

LICHT: (still quietly mumbling) Mr. Cat~

KURO: At this rate, we’re lacking man-power so let’s go with a shortcut!

KURO: Magical Kitty Cat Magic~!

KURO: Magic Portal!

MAHIRU: Huh? What the heck’s that?

(a looming sound effect comes closer)

MAHIRU: EH?! What—AHHHHH!!!

(ominous music plays as they land)

MAHIRU: Wha—this place is…?

HYDE: Looks like… We’re suddenly in front of the Demon Lord’s castle…

LICHT: As expected from Mr. Cat’s fancy kitty cat magic.

MAHIRU: What did you do?!

(Kuro transforms back into a human)

KURO: Simply put, it’s a ○○.1

MAHIRU: But, a ○○ is not an easy place to go to…

HYDE: Welp, never mind the complicated stuff~

HYDE: Now, let’s invade the Demon Lord’s castle!

(they slowly walk inside)

KURO: It’s here, isn’t it?

MAHIRU: How can you tell?

KURO: The circumstances declare so.

HYDE: You keep saying that, it’s getting annoying.

LICHT: Let’s attack.

(softly knocking on the door)

LICHT: Please excuse us.

HYDE: Oh? You’re actually doing it politely. Since it’s you, I thought you’d kick the door down or something.

TSUBAKI: (from the other side of the door) It’s open~

KURO: He’s not locking the door… What a careless guy.

MAHIRU: That’s not what you should react to!

(door opens and they walk in)

TSUBAKI: (laughing maniacally) Not interesting at all…

TSUBAKI: So, you’ve finally arrived, you peasants! This great Demon Lord Tsubaki will… give you some green-tea flavored snacks~

KURO/MAHIRU: Annoying!!

MAHIRU: The tension’s gone after seeing him laze about in a kotatsu!

TSUBAKI: I mean, it took so long for you guys to get here. I got tired of waiting.

HYDE: He’s pretty easy-going for a last boss, huh?

KURO: You’re completely right.

TSUBAKI: Come inside [the kotatsu], Brother Sloth~ You can relax all you want.

KURO: …! What’s this feeling…? I can’t avoid it… My heart’s being held captive…

TSUBAKI: Ah, we have oranges, too. Want some?

KURO: Oranges?!

MAHIRU: (scoffs) As if Kuro would be taken in by th—

HYDE: Nii-san already went, though.

MAHIRU: STUPID! STOP CAUSING TROUBLE!

KURO: No… When I heard the words “kotatsu” and “oranges”, my body suddenly…

KURO: (groans in pain and then transforms into a cat)

KURO: (sighs) It’s so warm~ This is the best~

MAHIRU: What’s gotten into you, Kuro?!

TSUBAKI: See~? They say that cats will always fall victims to kotatsu, right?

KURO: I’m gonna relax and live here~

TSUBAKI: We have melon, too~

LICHT: (slightly gasps) Melon…? (Licht runs to the kotatsu)

HYDE: Aw, crap! Lichtan!

LICHT: (eating) This melon’s good…

HYDE: Come back to us, Lichtan!

MAHIRU: Uwah…! This got a lot more troublesome!

TSUBAKI: (laughing maniacally)

LICHT: (to himself) This is so delicious… It has Heaven’s taste to it.

TSUBAKI: Looks like I got them hooked. This is actually my plan all along.

TSUBAKI: How does it feel having your friends taken hostage one by one~?

MAHIRU: (grunts) Honestly… I’m lost at how I should feel and react right now…!

HYDE: Damn you, Demon Lord Tsubaki. That’s foul play!

MAHIRU: Good going, Lawless!

TSUBAKI: A Demon Lord playing fair is similar to a rollercoaster going slow or sushi without wasabi, you know? It won’t be interesting at all.

HYDE: Ah, I don’t really get it.

MAHIRU: The analogy’s too difficult…

TSUBAKI: Grr… Shamrock and Belkia would totally get it, though…! If you don’t broaden your horizons, you’ll experience less, you know?!

MAHIRU: He’s sounding like a school teacher now…!

HYDE: I understand the logic but, hearing it from you is irritating.

TSUBAKI: Fine, then I’ll explain it so that simpletons like you can understand.

TSUBAKI: In other words, it’s meaningless if I don’t provoke you.

TSUBAKI: Take this! Demon Lord’s Ultimate Technique!

TSUBAKI: Kyun, kyun, Tsubakyun~ Tsubakyun Beam~ (sparkly sounds)

MAHIRU: That’s an ultimate technique!?

(explosion)

HYDE/MAHIRU: AAAAAAHHHHHH!

  ***

  (downtrodden 8-bit music)

KURO: The world was enveloped in darkness.

KURO: The Hero Mahiru disappeared right in front of my eyes.

KURO: Do you want to continue?

MAHIRU: No, I don’t!

  ==END==

Translator’s Notes:

1 What Kuro and Mahiru actually say here is bleeped out in the audio, presumably because it’s a copyrighted term.

※ Please don’t re-post the English translations without permission.

#servamp #servamp translations #my translations #drama cd #i love this au so much #hero mahiru is the hero we all need #licht and melon is the only otp we all need'

[waltzshouldbewriting]

Nemesis (Ghostmind Story 4)

By JD Jackson

First thing first, yes we are all fine.

That being said, you are all probably wondering the reason behind my recent online activities. Well, it all started about two AM when Dan was out helping investigate some weird gas thing.

It started for me when he barged into my room at 2:45 looking like a truck ran him over, minus the injury part.

“What’s wrong?” Was the first thing out of my mouth before my instincts finally kicked in. “Don’t answer that.” I ran from my computer (yes I was still up, sue me) to my bed, where I brushed off the papers I had all over it. I grabbed my weighted blanket, ordered Dan to lie down, and told him to relax.

“You need music - no you don’t,” I said, running through what Dan usually needs while in shutdown mode. I turned off my writing playlist, dimmed the lights, and fetched him a bottle of water.

Aaliyah called me just as I was about to call her.

“Is Dan at your place?” Aaliyah asked. She sounded half-asleep.

“Yes,” I replied, balancing the phone with my computer as I walked out to the living room. “He’s completely zoned. Do you know what happened?”

“Someone attacked him.”

“What?”

My parents were already in the living room, both on the phone. I plopped on the floor and opened up a window on my laptop.

“Let me find a picture,” I said. “See what I can find out.”

I put the phone down, already switching to research mode.

I found a video of the attack in half a minute. My mom handed me a notebook as I wrote and sketched what I saw.

Young. Our age? Design on shirt. One-way fight. Obvious training. Wasn’t seeking to kill, only hurt.

Questions began to form, and that’s when I started with the weird posting on social media.

Does anyone recognize his style of fighting?

Any idea on his symbol?

Anyone recognize him?

Another video came up, this one with a clear picture of the other person’s face. I snapped a screenshot and did a reverse image search just as a few responses came back in.

His fighting is very mixed. Can’t identify any one style.

If I had to guess, he had some jujutsu training mixed in with it.

I found his Facebook page, but it only listed what was definitely a false age and location, and a friends list. So I started searching for his friends.

That logo reminds me of Divinity White’s logo when she was Savage Serpent.

More googling, and I started connecting the dots. A photo on a friend’s timeline here, a jujutsu studio website from his hometown here.

After about thirty minutes, two police officers came to check on Dan. After some convincing from my parents, Dan came out to meet them.

“Any idea who attacked me?” Dan asked. His voice sounded flat, uninterested, but to me that just meant he was still in shutdown.

Police officers don’t know how to deal with him. And they haven’t had to yet, I realized. Not with his device. Which was still on his arm, shattered.

“Not yet,” one of the police officers responded.

“I know,” I offered. “His name is Jason White. He is sixteen years old, trained at an old rundown jujutsu studio in his hometown. He’s the son of Divinity White AKA Savage Serpent. Ms White was a member of the FOCOPI, back twenty years ago. She quit after a bad injury, and eventually married and became a lawyer. Her old secret identity was found at two years ago, shortly after which she and her husband were murdered by someone orphaned by the FOCOPI, which then left Jason orphaned. He moved in with his aunt, who still lives near the FOCOPI headquarters. And there’s an ongoing investigation to see if his aunt is the person behind the new FOCOPI member Avidizer.”

“FOCOPI may be evil, but they don’t involve kids,” one of the police officers said.

“Unless,” I replied. “The kid takes it upon himself to be involved. Jason has had two amber alerts since moving in with his aunt, but resolved quickly. One of the kids in his school with a less secure account seems to think he ran away.”

The other police officer raised an eyebrow. “So what you’re saying is the kid has a role model whose in FOCOPI, which is motive. And he likely tried more dangerous initiation tactics by himself.”

“Until FOCOPI gave in and gave him a safer mission,” I concluded. “Taking on Ghostmind, a superhero with no physical skill.”

“I’ll admit, it makes sense,” the first police officer said. She looked at my parents. “Your child is a good researcher.”

My dad chuckled. “It’s probably all that time they spend researching for that novel.”

“We’ll look deeper into what you’ve found, but we’ll still stay open to other explanations- though this one sounds solid.” The police officer looked at me. “Ever think of getting a job in criminal investigations?”

I made a face and shook my head. “Not creative enough for me.”

The next hour or so, police came and went from my house. I showed them how I did my research and the photos I’d found. Those who had time to react were impressed.

Dan’s parents came over, and the whole Davis Family stayed the night. Then, just a little after sunrise, it was time to start the next day.

Dan was already excused from school, and his mom called in with a family emergency, but the rest of us had to trot on to work and school. Not that I didn’t try to stay with him, but I was close to failing in two classes (like that mattered in the moment) and neither Dan nor my dad wanted me to stay.

So I went to school, despite having no sleep. And slept through most of my classes. When I got home, Dan and his mother were passed out in my room, so I took a nap on the couch.

The rest of the day was spent recovering from that morning. My mom forced us all to eat, even with no appetite. I spent the evening scrolling Tumblr while Dan played video games on his phone and his mother conversed with my parents.

She wanted to head home, but Dan was feeling sick from anxiety and was wary of riding in a car. Neither of them like the house (we are a messy family), and Dan complained once or twice that he should’ve walked the extra ten minutes back to his place initially. I did the best to keep the area clean, but it felt hopeless. Claudia and Aaliyah both showed up after dinner, and Aaliyah brought a tool kit to work on Dan’s device.

That night I didn’t stay up until 2 AM, but I still found myself woken up with a crash around the same time. I was sleeping on the couch, Claudia in one of the recliners, and Aaliyah had moved downstairs to work.

“What was that?” Claudia asked, sitting up.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

My parents creeped out of their room, my mom with a flashlight and my dad with a bat.

“Did you hear that?” My mom asked.

Claudia and I both nodded.

“Get Dan and go downstairs,” my dad barked.

“Why?” Claudia asked. “There’s police officers-“

“Do it.”

Dan was already awake, and he barely complained about the woody smell as we descended the stairs. I led them to a corner, and Aaliyah and Claudia moved a table to cover us.

Dan sighed and leaned his head against the cold wall, his breath speeding up. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest.

“It’s just a precaution,” Claudia whispered. “There’s no reason to panic.”

“I know,” I answered. “Doesn’t mean I can stop.”

“Shhh,” Dan hissed. “Stop talking so loud.”

Something thumped, startling me and Claudia.

“Aaliyah, how long is the repair going to take?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

“Too long,” Aaliyah said.

“That’s not an answer!”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not a good idea.”

I sighed. “It would make me feel better if we had a plan.”

“It’s four to one,” Claudia stated. “We could take him.”

“This is a horrible idea!” Aaliyah said.

Dan shook his head. “He’s too good of a fighter.”

“It’s four to one,” I repeated.

“I’m sure he’s trained for that,” Dan replied. “And none of us has.”

“I know a thing or two about strategy.” I looked around the room. “Now if I could only think clearly...” Closing my eyes, I did my best to concentrate. Just pretend it’s a scene in a novel.

“We have only one entrance,” I reasoned. “Umm, let’s see - we could take him by surprise - maybe, uh, nevermind, that wouldn’t work.” I continued to ramble, but slowly an idea began forming. “I think I have a plan. We need a net.”

It wasn’t hard. Claudia and I were able to sew a few stronger pieces of cloth together, and then I found small bolts in my dad’s work box that we tied to the end. Claudia took the net as we moved into position.

Claudia and I pressed our bodies against the wall next to the stairs just as the door creaked open. My heart was pounding even harder, but I forced myself to breathe slowly and softly. I listened as an unfamiliar gate walked down the stairs, ignoring the shaky feeling through my limbs.

Then Jason White stepped into the room, and me and Claudia tackled him with the net.

The good news is that we caught him by surprise. But, as Aaliyah expected, it didn’t take long for him to react. He landed an elbow into my stomach, and I stumbled backwards as pain flared. I hit the wall and collapsed, muttering a few of my favorite curse words under my breath.

Claudia recovered. Apparently, cheerleaders have high pain tolerance (which I do not, hence me lying on the floor in pain at this moment in time). She threw herself onto White and managed to wrap the net around his face in a smooth motion. It wasn’t enough to bring him down, but Claudia grabbed the edges and yanked, bringing White’s head down and making him stumble. Claudia elbowed him in the side of the head, knocking him into the wall, while he still struggled to get the net off. She kneed him in the stomach, and he punched her in the face in defense, making her stumble backwards.

White managed to toss the net off. Aaliyah had yet to finish her repairs.

I took a deep breath in, going through a quick grounding exercise. It made the pain worse, but I found I could focus. Now, all I needed was a stroke of genius.

And, impossibly, I had one.

I pushed myself up and forced myself to move to the other side of the room. White, who was still focusing on Claudia, turned my way just as I reached my target - a basket of spray paint. I grabbed a bottle, popped the lid, and sprayed it right into White’s eyes. It didn’t blind him as I’d hoped, but he did stumble backwards with a nasty wince.

Sometime during that sequence of events, Aaliyah managed to fix Dan’s device. Which was good, because a second later White punched me in the face and I went down.

“He has some type of device on his waist!” Dan called.

“What?” White asked, spinning around. He nervously patted his belt. “No I don’t!”

“A little protective of your doodad?” I asked, forcing myself up onto my knees despite the massive face ache (is that a thing?) spreading from my jaw.

Claudia, who, despite a bloody nose and a black eye, was sneaking around the side of White, took the hint. She launched forward, grabbing the device with amazing reflexes, and tossed it at Aaliyah. Aaliyah caught it, and held her wrench up to it like a knife to a throat.

White halted.

“You like this, don’t you?” Aaliyah asked. “It would be a shame if something... happened to it. But I figure if I’m smart enough to invent, I’m probably smart enough to destroy. After all, it’s supposed to be easier, right?”

White scowled. “What do you want?”

“For one, stop punching my friends. In fact, if you leave now, in the morning I’ll leave this somewhere for you to find.”

“Why would I trust you?”

“You don’t have much choice, do you?”

White huffed. “If you don’t return it, you’ll pay.” Then he turned on his heels and left.

Later that day, someone informed us that White used that device frequently to sneak pass police officers and guards. None of us know what happened to the device, since Aaliyah turned it over to the SGU.

And honestly, none of us care.

All I know is that two days later and Dan is still in panic mode and my cheek still hurts.

#writing #from my patreon page #JD Jackson #Ghostmind #original writing #patreon #superheroes

[agrarianradfem]

The women and veganism post  Though I think many people are expecting a post outlining why I believe women shouldn’t go vegan, that isn’t actually the case. I don’t care if you’re vegan, want to become vegan, etc. I also don’t believe it’s impossible to be a healthy vegan. And I feel I need to toss the disclaimer on even though in none of my posts have I advocated against individuals choosing vegan diets, instead focusing on why veganism for humanity is, I believe, not a sustainable nor more inherently ethical diet. 

The history of much of vegetarianism is tied to religion, with vegetarian diets supposedly more religiously pure diets. Though a number of religions have had leaders advocate for vegetarianism, such as Buddhism, my studies and my audience are mostly Western, so it’s a more Western framework I will work within. Vegetarianism is also found consistently through the history of Christianity. As Aaron Gross, a Ph.D professor of theology stated, “‘One of the most striking things one discovers in comparative religion is that the potential moral danger of meat eating is a major theme across religious traditions’” (x). In Christianity, this can be seen with traditions of vegetarian monks, vegetarian Christian leaders, and the abstaining from meat during Lent. In the Bible, only once Eve committed the grave sin of eating the apple, did humanity begin eating the animals. Therefore, not only is consumption of meat tied to humanity’s impurity, but to Eve’s failings. Women are responsible, in Christianity, for the consumption of animals.

Never having recovered from original sin, women in the Christian church had to work harder to make it into heaven than men. During the Middle Ages, we see the rise of anorexia mirabilis ("miraculous lack of appetite"), which referred almost exclusively to women and girls who would starve themselves, sometimes to the point of death, in the name of God. Two of the most famous of these fasting girls, Mary of Oignes and Beatrice of Nazareth, both claimed to vomit from the mere scent of meat alone (Fasting Girls, Joan Jacobs Brumberg). Anorexia mirabilis was frequently coupled with other ascetic practices, such as lifelong virginity, flagellant behavior, the donning of hairshirts, sleeping on beds of thorns, and other assorted penitential practices. It was largely a practice of Catholic women, who were often known as "miraculous maids". With their markedly sinful bodies, these women refused food, mutilated their breasts and hips, and inflicted other pain on themselves in order to become ‘more pure.’ Although today, devotion to God as a reason for limiting diet is no longer popular, women have substituted a body marked sinful because of women’s weakness derived from Eve for a body marked sinful by body fat. Although I’m not saying that veganism is an eating disorder, a simple good search of ‘why should I go vegan?’ returns page after page of results that highlight that veganism will help you lose weight, banish cellulite (a female secondary sex characteristic), and get rid of lower tummy pooch. Get rid of your marks of gluttony. This is especially true with raw veganism pages. When you click on videos made by vegans, you stumble upon videos like this (x) where the video host uses the words ‘clean’ to discuss the vegan food and how she feels cleaner eating her raw vegan diet. Veganism is still tied to purity with this emphasis on ‘cleanliness.’ Clean eating turns up instagram accounts of vegan (and vegetarian, though they often post a lot of vegan recipes) social media influencers who promote how ‘clean’ they feel and how ‘clean’ the food is. Sometimes fish gets a pass on being impure (a similarity with Christianity).

The focus on clean eating (and the secondary benefits like ‘detoxing your body of toxins’ which your liver does anyway) reaches religious fervor. How can you tell? Many ex-vegans, especially popular bloggers, when they come to decide veganism is no longer for them, they post these incredibly long posts about why they are no longer vegan, many saying they feel run down, have low iron levels, hypothyroidism, or blood sugar control problems. One blogger, coming out as no longer vegan writes: “My body started craving the “bad” stuff. Namely, meat.” (x). When attempting to exit veganism, some popular ex-vegans have received death threats and hacks (x), (x). When purity ideology leaks into diet choices, especially when applied so aggressively to women (I haven’t found death threats and comments to the same degree with male ex-vegans, in fact didn’t see any), then this is quite coercive. For women looking to leave veganism, this backlash can be incredibly harmful and could keep them vegan even if they are feeling sick while being so. Stop moralizing food - it perpetuates a culture extremely detrimental to women’s health (which is what we all want anyway). On the topic of health, vegans and vegetarians like to cite the Seventh Day Adventist study on longevity as proof that vegetarianism and veganism increases lifespan by about ten years. Yet, when compared to the Mormon Longevity Study, there is no significant difference. The Mormon study finds that Mormons, who as a population eat more meat than Adventists yet have the same strong community ties, focus on spirituality and family, and abstaining from alcohol and smoking, have a lifespan of 9.8 years longer than the average American (x, only easily accessible source though many popsci articles will cite the 10 year number for adventists). Therefore, it appears that meat eating is not the tragedy to human health the Adventist study appears to demonstrate. Additional studies used to support vegetarianism and veganism, like the China Study and the Seven Countries Study, have been proven to have extremely poor study design (x), (x). So a vegan diet can be healthy, but the connections to purity, the ideological fervor and anger at ex-vegans, and the weak science backing veganism as a panacea need to questioned, especially because 79 percent of vegans and 59 percent of vegetarians are women. I have too many oreo and chikin strip gobbling vegetarian and vegan friends who firmly believe that just because they are getting adequate grams of protein and supplementing with b12 that they are being healthier than meat eaters (and let’s all admit to the popular ‘unhealthy vegetarian/vegan facebook memes we’ve all seen). Of course the standard diet of the Western world isn’t healthy - there are so many oxidized fats in fast foods, too many calories, and too much sugar - but that doesn’t mean that moving to a whole foods diet is less healthy than a vegan diet. Make the choice that works for you, but please remember on a class analysis scale that nothing, especially something so important as diet and so dominated by women, is above criticism. I don’t buy that women are vegetarian/vegan at higher numbers just because women are more compassionate/health conscious than men and I don’t think you should either. 

#notice how it's not an attack on veganism #I don't care about veganism on an individual level #but instead am very uncomfortable with the connection between veg diets and women going so widely unchallenged #further reading check of the radfem Vegetarian Myth #apologies for only popular articles I don't have database access :( #of course this isn't everything #but that would take me ages and would be less readable #this is some of the core #the important stuff to me