#12/06/2019

[mostlysignssomeportents]

An adversarial iMessage client for Android

Adversarial interoperability is one of the most reliable ways to protect tech users from predatory corporations: that's when a technologist reverse-engineers an existing product to reconfigure or mod it (interoperability) in ways its users like, but which its manufacturer objects to (adversarial):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability

"Adversarial interop" is a mouthful, so at EFF, we coined the term "competitive compatibility," or comcom, which is a lot easier to say and to spell.

Scratch any tech success and you'll find a comcom story. After all, when a company turns its screws on its users, it's good business to offer an aftermarket mod that loosens them again. HP's $10,000/gallon inkjet ink is like a bat-signal for third-party ink companies. When Mercedes announces that it's going to sell you access to your car's accelerator pedal as a subscription service, that's like an engraved invitation to clever independent mechanics who'll charge you a single fee to permanently unlock that "feature":

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/05/carmakers-push-forward-with-plans-to-make-basic-features-subscription-services-despite-widespread-backlash/

Comcom saved giant tech companies like Apple. Microsoft tried to kill the Mac by rolling out a truly cursèd version of MS Office for MacOS. Mac users (5% of the market) who tried to send Word, Excel or Powerpoint files to Windows users (95% of the market) were stymied: their files wouldn't open, or they'd go corrupt. Tech managers like me started throwing the graphic designer's Mac and replacing it with a Windows box with a big graphics card and Windows versions of Adobe's tools.

Comcom saved Apple's bacon. Apple reverse-engineered MS's flagship software suite and made a comcom version, iWork, whose Pages, Numbers and Keynote could flawlessly read and write MS's Word, Excel and Powerpoint files:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

It's tempting to think of iWork as benefiting Apple users, and certainly the people who installed and used it benefited from it. But Windows users also benefited from iWork. The existence of iWork meant that Windows users could seamlessly collaborate on and share files with their Mac colleagues. IWork didn't just add a new feature to the Mac ("read and write files that originated with Windows users") – it also added a feature to Windows: "collaborate with Mac users."

Every pirate wants to be an admiral. Though comcom rescued Apple from a monopolist's sneaky attempt to drive it out of business, Apple – now a three trillion dollar company – has repeatedly attacked comcom when it was applied to Apple's products. When Apple did comcom, that was progress. When someone does comcom to Apple, that's piracy.

Apple has many tools at its disposal that Microsoft lacked in the early 2000s. Radical new interpretations of existing copyright, contract, patent and trademark law allows Apple – and other tech giants – to threaten rivals who engage in comcom with both criminal and civil penalties. That's right, you can go to prison for comcom these days. No wonder Jay Freeman calls this "felony contempt of business model":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/09/lead-me-not-into-temptation/#chamberlain

Take iMessage, Apple's end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) instant messaging tool. Apple customers can use iMessage to send each other private messages that can't be read or altered by third parties – not cops, not crooks, not even Apple. That's important, because when private messaging systems get hacked, bad things happen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_celebrity_nude_photo_leak

But Apple has steadfastly refused to offer an iMessage app for non-Apple systems. If you're an Apple customer holding a sensitive discussion with an Android user, Apple refuses to offer you a tool to maintain your privacy. Those messages are sent "in the clear," over the 38-year-old SMS protocol, which is trivial to spy on and disrupt.

Apple sacrifices its users' security and integrity in the hopes that they will put pressure on their friends to move into Apple's walled garden. As CEO Tim Cook told a reporter: if you want to have secure communications with your mother, buy her an iPhone:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tim-cook-says-buy-mom-210347694.html

Last September, a 16-year old high school student calling himself JJTech published a technical teardown of iMessage, showing how any device could send and receive encrypted messages with iMessage users, even without an Apple ID:

https://jjtech.dev/reverse-engineering/imessage-explained/

JJTech even published code to do this, in an open source library called Pypush:

https://github.com/JJTech0130/pypush

In the weeks since, Beeper has been working to productize JJTech's code, and this week, they announced Beeper Mini, an Android-based iMessage client that is end-to-end encrypted:

https://beeper.notion.site/How-Beeper-Mini-Works-966cb11019f8444f90baa314d2f43a54

Beeper is known for a multiprotocol chat client built on Matrix, allowing you to manage several kinds of chat from a single app. These multiprotocol chats have been around forever. Indeed, iMessage started out as one – when it was called "iChat," it supported Google Talk and Jabber, another multiprotocol tool. Other tools like Pidgin have kept the flame alive for decades, and have millions of devoted users:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/tower-babel-how-public-interest-internet-trying-save-messaging-and-banish-big

But iMessage support has remained elusive. Last month, Nothing launched Sunchoice, a disastrous attempt to bring iMessage to Android, which used Macs in a data-center to intercept and forward messages to Android users, breaking E2EE and introducing massive surveillance risks:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/21/23970740/sunbird-imessage-app-shut-down-privacy-nothing-chats-phone-2

Beeper Mini does not have these defects. The system encrypts and decrypts messages on the Android device itself, and directly communicates with Apple's servers. It gathers some telemetry for debugging, and this can be turned off in preferences. It sends a single SMS to Apple's servers during setup, which changes your device's bubble from green to blue, so that Apple users now correctly see your device as a secure endpoint for iMessage communications.

Beeper Mini is now available in Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.beeper.ima&hl=en_US

Now, this is a high-stakes business. Apple has a long history of threatening companies like Beeper over conduct like this. And Google has a long history deferring to those threats – as it did with OG App, a superior third-party Instagram app that it summarily yanked after Meta complained:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/05/battery-vampire/#drained

But while iMessage for Android is good for Android users, it's also very good for Apple customers, who can now get the privacy and security guarantees of iMessage for all their contacts, not just the ones who bought the same kind of phone as they did. The stakes for communications breaches have never been higher, and antitrust scrutiny on Big Tech companies has never been so intense.

Apple recently announced that it would add RCS support to iOS devices (RCS is a secure successor to SMS):

https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/16/apple-rcs-coming-to-iphone/

Early word from developers suggests that this support will have all kinds of boobytraps. That's par for the course with Apple, who love to announce splashy reversals of their worst policies – like their opposition to right to repair – while finding sneaky ways to go on abusing its customers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently

The ball is in Apple's court, and, to a lesser extent, in Google's. As part of the mobile duopoly, Google has joined with Apple in facilitating the removal of comcom tools from its app store. But Google has also spent millions on an ad campaign shaming Apple for exposing its users to privacy risks when talking to Android users:

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883609/google-rcs-message-apple-iphone-ipager-ad

While we all wait for the other shoe to drop, Android users can get set up on Beeper Mini, and technologists can kick the tires on its code libraries and privacy guarantees.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/07/blue-bubbles-for-all/#never-underestimate-the-determination-of-a-kid-who-is-time-rich-and-cash-poor

[goldsainz]

OVER THE YEARS — one shot.

pairing: oscar piastri x reader

MASTERLIST.

request: “omg hi i have a request for oscar piastri a social media au something showing their friendship over the years maybe through b'day posts/something else (you decide) basically like childhood friend to lovers social media au pls !”

NOTE: first oscar piece ever!! the format of this is a bit diff but that’s just bc it’s kind of only insta… thank you sm for requesting, i hope that this is what you wanted and enjoy! (this has no faceclaim btw)

APRIL 06, 2019

liked by oscarpiastri, nicolepiastri and 2,687 others

yourusername HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEST FRIEND WHO JUST TURNED 18!!!! cannot believe i’ve known you for 12 of those years…

view all 40 comments

oscarpiastri Was the last picture really necessary…

⤷ yourusername yes, yes it was 😁

oscarpiastri I was a pretty cute kid actually

liked by yourusername

APRIL 06, 2020

liked by arthur_leclerc, oscarpiastri and 3,185 others

yourusername 19 years old and he’s still acting like he’s 10!! oh also, happy birthday 🥳

view all 56 comments

oscarpiastri Was the happy birthday an afterthought or…?

⤷ yourusername was i really that obvious?

⤷ oscarpiastri I see how it is then🙄

arthur_leclerc I’m gonna need more of these pictures

⤷ yourusername your wish is my command

⤷ oscarpiastri Y/N NO

APRIL 06, 2021

liked by oscarpiastri, logansargeant and 6,279 others

yourusername selfie time for the birthday boy! 20 has looked better on others, but you’ll get there ❤️

view all 94 comments

oscarpiastri Wow!

oscarpiastri I send you these pics in confidence and they end up on Instagram… Can’t trust anybody😔

⤷ yourusername not really private if they’re in a group chat🤷‍♀️

⤷ oscarpiastri Watch your back for your next birthday post… You never the content I might get

arthur_leclerc You two look really cozy in that second picture!!

⤷ yourusername shut up, frenchie

APRIL 06, 2022

liked by carla.brocker, oscarpiastri and 10,836 others

yourusername happy birthday to this guy 🫶

view all 162 comments

oscarpiastri 🫶🫶🫶

liked by yourusername and 10 others

oscarpiastri Will I ever get some decent photos in these posts?

⤷ yourusername hm… no!

oscarfan1 who is she??

⤷ oscarfan2 she’s oscar’s childhood best friend i think

⤷ oscarfan3 i thought she was his gf, cause she’s always in the paddock with him

⤷ oscarfan2 nope, just friends from what i know

APRIL 06, 2023

liked by landonorris, zhouguanyu24 and 34,091 others

yourusername happy birthday to my boy friend (my best friend who’s a boy but also my actual boyfriend)!!! you’ve done so much in all these years, you’re even in F1 now, and i’m happy to have been through it all 🤍 i included some good pics but just because the fans need them 😁

view all 512 comments

oscarpiastri Aww… Is the beautiful girl single?

⤷ yourusername no… but you’re pretty cute so call me :)

⤷ oscarpiastri 🙃🙃🙃

oscarpiastri21 how i love them

oscarfan22 THE MCLAREN GLOW UP OMG

landonorris There are children on this app…

⤷ yourusername WE’RE YOUNGER THAN YOU???

⤷ landonorris And yet I have more decorum🙄

oscarpiastri23 they’re so cuteee

JULY 09, 2023

liked by oscarpiastri, yukitsunoda and 51,684 others

yourusername P4! there is so much i could say, but all that matters is that i am incredibly proud of all that you achieved and will achieve

view all 775 comments

landonorris If I speak…

⤷ yourusername don’t❤️

oscarfan31 the most unproblematic and cutest couple on the grid

oscarpiastri I love you 🫶

⤷ yourusername I love you 🫶🫶

⤷ oscarpiastri I love you 🫶🫶🫶

oscarfan32 I LOVE THEM SM

oscarfan33 y/n pls know that we love you

[thealieninhiding]

The Katie McGrath Archives (WIP)

A repository of my ongoing digital archeology & archival work please contact me if you have anything to contribute and buy me a coffee if you value my content

message me if you want a link to her complete filmography 🤫

Updates

(last updated 2024-07-03)

2024-07-03

Scans:

2014-02-07 London Times - Dracula sets

Audio:

(Un)likeminded 2x02 How to Survive The Apocalypse

2024-05-24

Video:

2017 Katie McGrath interview [CW|KMcGsource]

2017 Supergirl Season 3 Sweet dreams (are made of this) Music Video

2017 CW SDCC Promo Supergirl and Arrow

2019-01-01 The CW Promo Open To All

2021-04-25 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Lena Luthor

2021-09-15 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Reflecting on Supergirl

2024-05-22

Audio:

Interview - 2009-07-17 Katie McGrath Mr Media interview

Interview - 2009-10-15 Geek Syndicate Merlin BTS special

Video:

BTS - 2008-10-08 Blue Peter Merlin BTS

Events - 2009 TV Choice Awards Digital Spy interview

Events - Getty Videos of 2009 TV Choice Awards, 2010 Merlin Series 3 launch, 2011 W.E. premiere, 2017 King Arthur Premiere

2024-05-17

Archived interviews

2008-12-07 Tribune Magazine - What Katie Did

2011-10-14 What's on TV - Merlin's Katie McGrath- 'Bad girls have more fun!'

2012-12-03 Fanhattan Blog - Colin Morgan, Katie McGrath and Bradley James on Season 5 and The Series Finale

2018-08-01 The TV Junkies - Supergirl SDCC 2018 Interviews- Lena’s Impractical Lab Outfits, the Return of Reporter Kara and a More Grounded Season 4

Audio

HHush samples

Interview - 2009-2011 Sci-fi Talk rewind merlin the series specials episode 1

Interview - 2011? Merlin S4 Sci-fi talk byte katie mcgrath on morgana

Interview - 2013 BBC Radio 1xtra part 1 & part 2

(Un)likeminded 1x02 While You Were Dreaming

Trees a crowd- Irish folklore segment

Magazine scans

2008-09-20 Radio Times

2009-06-08 TV Week (Aus)

2010-09-05 Sunday Express

2010-09-30 Totally Merlin Magazine

2011-12 Total Film

2012-03-14 Sci-Fi Now

2012-10-06 Radio Times

2013-04-06 Irish independent

2013-09-02 Marie-Claire (UK)

2013-12 Instyle

2013-12 Total Film

Video:

Fans - 2012-04-16 Merlin4 [carlospyrrhus]

Fans - 2017-08-30 Supergirl cast together on set [Joyce Law]

Interview - 2009-09-?? Merlin S2 audio interview with Katie McGrath [BJsRealm] part 1

Interview - 2010-09-06 Merlin Series 3 - BBC Radio 1xtra Interview with Angel Coulby & Katie McGrath [BJsrealm]

Interview - 2011-10-14 Merlin S4 Colin Morgan, Eoin Macken Katie McGrath on The Late Late Show

Interview - 2012-07-15 Colin Morgan and Katie McGrath at SDCC 2012 - innerSPACE [merlinnetwork2]

Interview - 2012-07-18 Katie McGrath Talks Merlin At Comic Con 2012 [ThinkHeroTV]

Interview - 2012-10-25 BBC Radio 1 Breakfast - Colin & Katie part 1 & part 2 [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Merlin S5 Katie McGrath interview international press day [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Colin, Bradley, Katie phone interview [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2013-11-09 Katie McGrath on BBC One Saturday Kitchen [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2019-07-22 ENTREVISTA SUPERGIRL Elenco fala sobre a nova temporada [Warner Channel Brasil]

Interview - 2019-07-23 Melissa Benoist Teases Directing An Episode Of 'Supergirl' [ET Canada]

Interview - 2020-02-21 ‘Supergirl’ Celebrates 100th Episode [ET Canada]

Panels - 2011-07-28 Merlin Comic Con 2011 Panel [ThinkHeroTV]

[fruityforsaari]

Duration of Killing Sprees and Police Responses to Mass Shooting Incidents

(from first 911 call to either when shooter is killed or disarmed)

2019 Dayton Shooting – 32 seconds

2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting – 2 to 4 minutes

Stockton Schoolyard Shooting – 3 minutes

2023 Allen Texas Mall Shooting – 3 to 4 minutes

2022 Chesapeake Shooting – 4 minutes

Oxford High School Shooting – 5 minutes

Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting – 5 minutes

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting – 5 to 6 minutes

Parkland High School Shooting – 6 minutes

2022 Buffalo Shooting – 6 minutes

Red Lake Shootings – 9 minutes

2023 Louisville Bank Shooting – 9 minutes

2014 Isla Vista Killings – 10 minutes

Sutherland Springs Church Shooting – 11 minutes

2023 Jacksonville Shooting – 11 minutes

2017 Aztec High School Shooting – 12 minutes

Luby’s Shooting – 12 to 13 minutes

2023 Nashville School Shooting – 14 minutes

Walk of Death Killings - ~20 minutes

Cleveland Elementary School Shooting - ~20 minutes

Jokela School Shooting – 22 minutes

Columbine High School Massacre – 49 minutes

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting – 1 hour and 14 minutes

San Ysidro McDonald’s Massacre – 1 hour and 17 minutes

Uvalde School Shooting – 1 hour and 17 minutes

Halle Synagogue Shooting – 1 hour and 32 minutes

University of Texas Tower Shooting – 1 hour and 36 minutes

Kauhajoki School Shooting - ~1 hour and 40 minutes

Virginia Tech Shooting – 2 hours and 36 minutes (main shooting was 9 minutes)

2016 Kalamazoo Shootings – 6 hours and 58 minutes

Sources:

2019 Dayton Shooting: https://www.foxnews.com/us/dayton-gunman-shot-26-people-32-seconds-police

2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting: https://www.heraldnet.com/news/marysville-pilchuck-high-school-shootings-timeline/

Stockton Schoolyard Shooting: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article252289238.html

2023 Allen Texas Mall Shooting: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2023/06/05/medics-saved-every-recoverable-victim-of-allen-mass-shooting-fire-department-says/

2022 Chesapeake Shooting: https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/crime/timeline-walmart-mass-shooting-in-chesapeake/291-845fb5f4-8baa-403c-ad37-6df930330a3c

Oxford High School Shooting: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/12/05/sunday-read-everything-we-know-about-oxford-high-school-shooting-timeline-charges-evidence-more/

Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting: https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/timeline-gilroy-garlic-festival-shooting/103-8e09e76d-e560-4c28-93b6-c4d94a272308

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/timeline-of-sandy-hook-school-shooting/1916530/

Parkland High School Shooting: https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/us/florida-school-shooting-timeline/index.html

2022 Buffalo Shooting: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-courts/we-have-bodies-down-here-police-radio-transmissions-reveal-grim-scene-at-saturdays-mass-killing/article_2335d1d0-d3c0-11ec-8bc0-4f348962ee1e.html (paid article, just scroll really fast or use an extension to bypass this)

2014 Isla Vista Killings: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/timeline-of-murder-spree-in-isla-vista/

Red Lake Shootings: https://vault.fbi.gov/red-lake-high-school-shooting

2023 Louisville Bank Shooting: https://www.yahoo.com/gma/louisville-corner-changed-forever-9-152203640.html

Sutherland Springs Church Shooting: https://www.ksat.com/news/2018/02/06/700-rounds-in-11-minutes-sutherland-springs-survivor-says-hes-amazed-hes-alive/

2023 Jacksonville Shooting: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/27/us/jacksonville-florida-shooting-sunday/index.html

2017 Aztec High School Shooting: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/08/us/aztec-high-school-shooting-william-atchison/index.html

Luby’s Shooting: https://www.crimemagazine.com/lubys-cafeteria-massacre-1991

2023 Nashville School Shooting: https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-shooting-covenant-school-unfolded/story?id=98158185

Walk of Death Killings: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-first-mass-murder-us-history-180956927/

Cleveland Elementary School Shooting: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-san-diego-shooting-anniversary-20190130-story.html

Jokela School Shooting: https://schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Jokela%20School%20Shooting%20Official%20Report.pdf (page 20 and 47)

Columbine High School Massacre: https://columbineonline.weebly.com/timeline.html

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/27/us/pittsburgh-attack-timeline/index.html

San Ysidro McDonalds Massacre: https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2019/07/18/san-ysidro-mcdonalds-massacre-35-years-later

Uvalde School Shooting: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/27/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-timeline/

Halle Synagogue Shooting: https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen-anhalt/halle/halle/pressekonferenz-stahlknecht-zu-anschlag-halle-100.html

University of Texas Tower Shooting: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/university-of-texas-tower-shooting-1966

Kauhajoki School Shooting: https://schoolshooters.info/sites/default/files/Kauhajoki%20School%20Shooting.pdf (page 26)

Virginia Tech Shooting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Virginia_Tech_shooting

2016 Kalamazoo Shootings: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kalamazoo-shootings-timeline-rampage-suspect-jason-dalton/

[calderacitylovers]

Zutara SlowBurn FanFiction: Personal Favs, part I

·        I AM STILL HERE by owedbetter Published: 2017-10-09 | 77K words | 7 Chapters

After the Last Agni Kai K heals Z with the help of bloodbending. Very sweet.

 ·        THE SUMMIT by AJLenoire

Chronicles post-war years, as Gaang and other characters gather for annual summits to keep peace and build relationships between the Four Nations. Katara yearns for a bigger purpose than the Avatar’s companion and slowly grows into a shrewd diplomat. Very sweet slow burn ZK story. Has mature scenes.

 ·        CLOTHE ME IN SEASONS, DRESS ME IN SNOW by sadladybug Published: 2015-01-05 | 62K words | 7 Chapters

Follows old Zuko as he reflects on his life and what would have been if he kept Katara closer. Absolutely beautiful, but also a devastatingly heart-breaking story about loss and pain.

 ·        SILENT DECLARATIONS by Megara Pike (Megara_Pike) Published: 2021-01-20 | 2,6K words

A short story based on animation by Hayley Wong. Z finds K asleep in her study and carries her to bed. Very sweet, gentle story.

 ·        COVERED IN YOU by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-02 | 55K words | 14 Chapters

Eight years after the war Z convinces K to take on a role of a Southern Water Tribe ambassador in the Caldera city. Both are completely clueless about each other’s feelings. Features political talks, big gestures, and a ball. Very cute, sweet slow-burn story. Has mature scenes.

 ·        TEN STRIDES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-03 | 29K Words | 12 Chapters

A collection of short stories filling in the gaps between some of the events of ATLAS3 and up to the Last Agni Kai. Features accidental cuddling, embracing in the rain, sharing a bed for warmth, post-Ember Island Theater discussions, being discovered, waiting to be kissed, Suki & Katara being good friends, battle plans, Zuko & Sokka getting drunk, slow burn & angst. Very sweet.

 ·        THE SWAY OF THE SUN by TheBlackBriarSparrow Published: Published: 2019-10-14 | 102K Words | 27 Chapters

Two years post-war Gaang reunites in Caldera city for a secret party in honor of the overworked Fire Lord’s birthday. Rebels attack the palace setting a thrilling consequence of events in motion. Adventures, investigations, and fights ensue. Z & K work together and enlist old friends to help find missing people. Beautiful slow-burn story with an exciting plot.

·        A WARM EMBRACE by ewinkie Published: 2020-10-06 | 19K Words | 7 Chapters

An ATLAS3 rewrite from Southern Riders to the Last Agni Kai. Katara and Zuko have to hide in a cave following their encounter with Yon Rha. Comforting turns to cuddling, which turns to waking up on Appa's tail in each other's arms. Katara is shocked at how comfortable she is. Zuko is shocked that Katara doesn't hate him for it. Features sharing a bed, being discovered, slowburn, and lots of teenage silliness.

 ·        FOLLOWING BLUE by Boogum Published: 2018-11-07 | 39K Words | 10 Chapters

ATLA S2 rewrite. After Katara falls from Appa’s saddle during a pursuit, the Blue Spirit becomes her reluctant companion and helps her reunite with her friends. Ba Sing Se scenes are completely rewritten, and Z ends up joining the Gaang much earlier. Thrilling beginning, sweet middle, average ending.

 ·        ANOTHER WORD FOR ALCHEMY by FanPanda13 Published: 2014-08-19 | 108K words | 24 Chapters

Five years post-war Aang summons old friends for a summit and invites them on a trip to investigate mysterious locations where he experiences loss of bending. Features Gaang setting Z & K up, travelling on Appa like in the olden days, lots of sparring, royal courting, magnificent navy ships & war ballons. Thrilling story with fun banter between old friends. Slowburn, mature content.

 ·        CONSUME ME WITH FIRE, FLOOD ME WITH DESIRE by Dacamia Published: 2020-08-14 | 86K words | 24 Chapters

Steamy ATLAS2 and ATLA S3 rewrite. Z & K accidentally meetup on their way to Ba Sing Se and decide to travel together. Features aged-up characters, lots of intimate scenes, staying in a beautiful cave, helping villagers, betrayal in Ba Sing Se, reunion, forgiveness, etc. Explicit mature content.

 ·        ROOTS AND WINGS by zukoscomet Published: 2020-08-14 | 250K words | 25 Chapters

A series of short stories of Z & K as they grow closer, confess their love for one another and start a family.

 ·        THOSE WHO FAVOR FIRE by hiwasseelane Published: 2021-05-02 |29K Words | 13 Chapters

An ATLAS3 rewrite. Sweet, teen-appopriate.

Here’s a link to Part II of my personal favs.

Here’s a link to Wholesome Zutara Short Stories.

[moonlitmmarie]

ART DUMP: FlutterDash (MLP:FiM:EG)

Love the girls so much!!

Timeline for the pieces:

1+2. 21/06/2020

3. 21/01/2021

4. 09/07/2019

5. 21/12/2019

6+7+8. 24/01/2021

[earlycuntsets]

mcr shows on youtube pt. 4 (2011 - 2023) last one :]

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

08/05/2011 pnc bank arts center holmdel nj - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/13/2011 hersheypark stadium hershey pa - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/20/2011 first midwest bank amphitheater tinley park il - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/26/2011 little john's farm reading england - em

08/31/2011 rogers arena vancouver canada - catie cunningham

09/03/2011 usana amphitheater west valley city utah - delaney nye

09/04/2011 comfort dental amphitheater greenwood village co - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/09/2011  capitol federal park at sandstone amphitheater bonner springs ks - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/11/2011 dte energy music theater clarkston mi - justanotherkilljoy

09/18/2011 farm bureau live at virginia beach va - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/20/2011 verizon wireless amphitheater charlotte nc - the academy is my beautiful romance

1/22/2012 gold coast parklands gold coast australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/03/2012 adelaide showground adelaide australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

02/05/2012 mccallum park perth australia - myxinfinitexromance

05/19/2012 north beach asbury park asbury park nj - ryan hanratty

12/20/2019 the shrine expo hall los angeles ca - gabe havel photo

05/16/2022 the eden project day one st austell england - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/17/2022 the eden project day two st austell england - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/21/2022 stadium mk milton keynes england - TheChickenGiraffe

05/24/2022 royal hospital kilmainham dublin ireland - the academy is my beautiful romance

05/28/2022 sofia gardens cricket ground cardiff wales - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/04/2022 bologna sonic park arena parco north italy - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/06/2022 olympiahalle munich germany - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/07/2022 budapest park budapest hungary - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/09/2022 progresja warsaw poland - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/11/2022 o2 arena prague czech republic - the academy is my beautiful romance

06/13/2022 stora scenen gröna lund stockholm sweden - live from stockholm

08/19/2022 paycom center oklahoma city ok - tony

08/23/2022 bridgestone arena nashville tn - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/24/2022 heritage bank center cincinnati oh - the academy is my beautiful romance

08/29/2022 wells fargo philadelphia pa - ronaldb2985

08/30/2022 mvp arena albany ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/05/2022 scotia bank toronto ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

09/16/2022 riot fest douglass park chicago il - geoffrey gardner

09/20/2022 prudential center newark nj - deadhoarse

09/24/2022 fla live arena sunrise fl - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/03/2022 tacoma dome tacoma wa - seattle concerts

10/05/2022 oakland arena oakland ca - HisoKu

10/07/2022 t-mobile arena las vegas nv - wormspeddler (smeagles)

10/08/2022 aftershock discovery park sacramento ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/09/2022 barclays center brooklyn ny - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/15/2022 kia forum inglewood ca - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/23/2022 when we were young day day two las vegas - the academy is my beautiful romance

10/29/2022 when we were young fest las vegas nv - PichyJr

11/18/2022 autódromo hermanos rodríguez mexico city mexico - leashalia

03/11/2023 the outer fields at western springs auckland new zealand (soundcheck) - the academy is my beautiful romance

03/23/2023 qudos bank arena sydney australia - the academy is my beautiful romance

-> pt. 1 (2002 - 2005)

-> pt. 2 (2005 - 2007)

-> pt. 3 (2007 - 2011)

[houpss]

(🧊)–Past relationships with Lily

🧊–return to masterlist ¡! ✥

–Lily hasn't had many relationships, but she is quite experienced with both girls and guys! She had many affairs, but little true love.

🧊–MINATOZAKI SANA¡! ✥

—Lily's first serious addiction, literally her first love, they started dating in 2013, when Lily was still in SM ENTERTAINMENT and God, she was only 14, and Sana was 17. Their relationship lasted three years, Lily grew up with Sana, she so grateful! they are very good and close friends now. They broke up because they both grew out of this relationship, but they are on excellent terms!

Familiar with:03/07/2013 (Were in a relationship from 06/16/2013-10/23/2016)

Relationship with Sana now: Very close friends, they are seen together at awards and any shows, they record TikTok videos together and broadcast!

🧊– CHOI SEUNGCHEOL¡! ✥

–They met on the set of an advertisement, then Seungcheol himself came up to meet Lily, they were very nice to each other! they talked for a very long time before starting a relationship, it was so comfortable and good. Seungcheol always supported Lily, when SKZ debuted, he tried to help with promotion. Lily is very grateful to him. We broke up due to misunderstandings and several major quarrels.

Familiar with:12/29/2016 (In a relationship from 07/27/2017-12/14/2018)

Relationship with Seungcheol now: Now they don’t communicate, but at awards or events they quietly glance at each other, which only they notice and know. Lily does not want to restore their communication, because she thinks that she does not need it.

🧊–KIM NAMJOON¡! ✥

–He took Lily when she was sick, it was a healing relationship for her, not that she loved deeply, but she definitely did! They were introduced by Tenshi back in 2015, but their relationship began only at the end of 2019. It was a very calm relationship, where Namjoon held the main position. They broke up due to difficulties in the perception of both sides.

Familiar with: spring 2015 (In a relationships from 12/30/2019-12/24/2020)

Relationship with Namjoon now: They communicate! perhaps not so often, but it’s very good that when Lily and Tenshi eat together, Jungkook and Namjoon will definitely join them. Quite easy and good communication. When Tenshi and Lily went to see off BTS to the army, Lily and Namjoon said goodbye very warmly.

[hauntinghyrule]

Preserving Four Swords art from Akira Himekawa's Twitter

Here's what I've managed to salvage so far. Anyone know of anything I might be missing?

2012-06-01 and 2015-10-06:

Original caption (left):

下描き整理中に発見。四剣のヴィオ＆シャドウだよ＊色付けしようと思ってそのままになってるイラストのラフです(^^)bこれから色塗って完成させてみようかな。

Original caption (right):

トライフォース三銃士を横から眺めるヴィオ君とそんな奴らイイから俺と遊ぼーぜ的なシャドウ君( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

—

2016-10-29, 2016-11-16 and 2020-07-28:

Interesting thing here: I'm mostly focused on preserving art that's on Twitter but not in the manga itself. This art, despite being a preview for the colored pages of the Legendary Edition, does not appear to be in the English version. I have not been able to find out if the Japanese version or any other edition has more color pages.

—

2018-11-02 and 2018-11-05:

Technically not new art, I just wanted to show you pictures of Akira Himekawa signing autographs under a huge poster of the inside cover.

There was also merch from the event - again technically not new art, but... familiar art in a new format?

—

2019-12-16:

I'm starting to run out of space for images, and this one is ambiguous, but... this looks like Blue, doesn't it?

—

2020-04-13:

Original captions:

オレ様だって洗ってるぜ #二次元でも手洗いうがい #手洗いうがい

ボクらだってやってるよ ❣️ #二次元でも手洗いうがい  #手洗いうがい

ボクらはしばらく合体できないね  (わかる人にはわかるハズ😊)  #二次元でも手洗いうがい  #SocialDistance #SocialDistancing

[mostlysignssomeportents]

No, Uber's (still) not profitable

Going to Defcon this weekend? I'm giving a keynote, "An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet's Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse," on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

Bezzle (n): 1. "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it" (JK Gabraith) 2. Uber.

Uber was, is, and always will be a bezzle. There are just intrinsic limitations to the profits available to operating a taxi fleet, even if you can misclassify your employees as contractors and steal their wages, even as you force them to bear the cost of buying and maintaining your taxis.

The magic of early Uber – when taxi rides were incredibly cheap, and there were always cars available, and drivers made generous livings behind the wheel – wasn't magic at all. It was just predatory pricing.

Uber lost $0.41 on every dollar they brought in, lighting $33b of its investors' cash on fire. Most of that money came from the Saudi royals, funneled through Softbank, who brought you such bezzles as WeWork – a boring real-estate company masquerading as a high-growth tech company, just as Uber was a boring taxi company masquerading as a tech company.

Predatory pricing used to be illegal, but Chicago School economists convinced judges to stop enforcing the law on the grounds that predatory pricing was impossible because no rational actor would choose to lose money. They (willfully) ignored the obvious possibility that a VC fund could invest in a money-losing business and use predatory pricing to convince retail investors that a pile of shit of sufficient size must have a pony under it somewhere.

This venture predation let investors – like Prince Bone Saw – cash out to suckers, leaving behind a money-losing business that had to invent ever-sweatier accounting tricks and implausible narratives to keep the suckers on the line while they blew town. A bezzle, in other words:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/19/fake-it-till-you-make-it/#millennial-lifestyle-subsidy

Uber is a true bezzle innovator, coming up with all kinds of fairy tales and sci-fi gimmicks to explain how they would convert their money-loser into a profitable business. They spent $2.5b on self-driving cars, producing a vehicle whose mean distance between fatal crashes was half a mile. Then they paid another company $400 million to take this self-licking ice-cream cone off their hands:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/herbies-revenge/#100-billion-here-100-billion-there-pretty-soon-youre-talking-real-money

Amazingly, self-driving cars were among the more plausible of Uber's plans. They pissed away hundreds of millions on California's Proposition 22 to institutionalize worker misclassification, only to have the rule struck down because they couldn't be bothered to draft it properly. Then they did it again in Massachusetts:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/15/simple-as-abc/#a-big-ask

Remember when Uber was going to plug the holes in its balance sheet with flying cars? Flying cars! Maybe they were just trying to soften us up for their IPO, where they advised investors that the only way they'd ever be profitable is if they could replace every train, bus and tram ride in the world:

https://48hills.org/2019/05/ubers-plans-include-attacking-public-transit/

Honestly, the only way that seems remotely plausible is when it's put next to flying cars for comparison. I guess we can be grateful that they never promised us jetpacks, or, you know, teleportation. Just imagine the market opportunity they could have ascribed to astral projection!

Narrative capitalism has its limits. Once Uber went public, it had to produce financial disclosures that showed the line going up, lest the bezzle come to an end. These balance-sheet tricks were as varied as they were transparent, but the financial press kept falling for them, serving as dutiful stenographers for a string of triumphant press-releases announcing Uber's long-delayed entry into the league of companies that don't lose more money every single day.

One person Uber has never fooled is Hubert Horan, a transportation analyst with decades of experience who's had Uber's number since the very start, and who has done yeoman service puncturing every one of these financial "disclosures," methodically sifting through the pile of shit to prove that there is no pony hiding in it.

In 2021, Horan showed how Uber had burned through nearly all of its cash reserves, signaling an end to its subsidy for drivers and rides, which would also inevitably end the bezzle:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/10/unter/#bezzle-no-more

In mid, 2022, Horan showed how the "profit" Uber trumpeted came from selling off failed companies it had acquired to other dying rideshare companies, which paid in their own grossly inflated stock:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/05/a-lousy-taxi/#a-giant-asterisk

At the end of 2022, Horan showed how Uber invented a made-up, nonstandard metric, called "EBITDA profitability," which allowed them to lose billions and still declare themselves to be profitable, a lie that would have been obvious if they'd reported their earnings using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/11/bezzlers-gonna-bezzle/#gryft

Like clockwork, Uber has just announced – once again – that it is profitable, and once again, the press has credulously repeated the claim. So once again, Horan has published one of his magisterial debunkings on Naked Capitalism:

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/08/hubert-horan-can-uber-ever-deliver-part-thirty-three-uber-isnt-really-profitable-yet-but-is-getting-closer-the-antitrust-case-against-uber.html

Uber's $394m gains this quarter come from paper gains to untradable shares in its loss-making rivals – Didi, Grab, Aurora – who swapped stock with Uber in exchange for Uber's own loss-making overseas divisions. Yes, it's that stupid: Uber holds shares in dying companies that no one wants to buy. It declared those shares to have gained value, and on that basis, reported a profit.

Truly, any big number multiplied by an imaginary number can be turned into an even bigger number.

Now, Uber also reported "margin improvements" – that is, it says that it loses less on every journey. But it didn't explain how it made those improvements. But we know how the company did it: they made rides more expensive and cut the pay to their drivers. A 2.9m ride in Manhattan is now $50 – if you get a bargain! The base price is more like $70:

https://www.wired.com/story/uber-ceo-will-always-say-his-company-sucks/

The number of Uber drivers on the road has a direct relationship to the pay Uber offers those drivers. But that pay has been steeply declining, and with it, the availability of Ubers. A couple weeks ago, I found myself at the Burbank train station unable to get an Uber at all, with the app timing out repeatedly and announcing "no drivers available."

Normally, you can get a yellow taxi at the station, but years of Uber's predatory pricing has caused a drawdown of the local taxi-fleet, so there were no taxis available at the cab-rank or by dispatch. It took me an hour to get a cab home. Uber's bezzle destroyed local taxis and local transit – and replaced them with worse taxis that cost more.

Uber won't say why its margins are improving, but it can't be coming from scale. Before the pandemic, Uber had far more rides, and worse margins. Uber has diseconomies of scale: when you lose money on every ride, adding more rides increases your losses, not your profits.

Meanwhile, Lyft – Uber's also-ran competitor – saw its margins worsen over the same period. Lyft has always been worse at lying about it finances than Uber, but it is in essentially the exact same business (right down to the drivers and cars – many drivers have both apps on their phones). So Lyft's financials offer a good peek at Uber's true earnings picture.

Lyft is actually slightly better off than Uber overall. It spent less money on expensive props for its long con – flying cars, robotaxis, scooters, overseas clones – and abandoned them before Uber did. Lyft also fired 24% of its staff at the end of 2022, which should have improved its margins by cutting its costs.

Uber pays its drivers less. Like Lyft, Uber practices algorithmic wage discrimination, Veena Dubal's term describing the illegal practice of offering workers different payouts for the same work. Uber's algorithm seeks out "pickers" who are choosy about which rides they take, and converts them to "ants" (who take every ride offered) by paying them more for the same job, until they drop all their other gigs, whereupon the algorithm cuts their pay back to the rates paid to ants:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

All told, wage theft and wage cuts by Uber transferred $1b/quarter from labor to Uber's shareholders. Historically, Uber linked fares to driver pay – think of surge pricing, where Uber charged riders more for peak times and passed some of that premium onto drivers. But now Uber trumpets a custom pricing algorithm that is the inverse of its driver payment system, calculating riders' willingness to pay and repricing every ride based on how desperate they think you are.

This pricing is a per se antitrust violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, America's original antitrust law. That's important because Sherman 2 is one of the few antitrust laws that we never stopped enforcing, unlike the laws banning predator pricing:

https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/sites/ilr.law.uiowa.edu/files/2023-02/Woodcock.pdf

Uber claims an 11% margin improvement. 6-7% of that comes from algorithmic price discrimination and service cutbacks, letting it take 29% of every dollar the driver earns (up from 22%). Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi himself says that this is as high as the take can get – over 30%, and drivers will delete the app.

Uber's food delivery service – a baling wire-and-spit Frankenstein's monster of several food apps it bought and glued together – is a loser even by the standards of the sector, which is unprofitable as a whole and experiencing an unbroken slide of declining demand.

Put it all together and you get a picture of the kind of taxi company Uber really is: one that charges more than traditional cabs, pays drivers less, and has fewer cars on the road at times of peak demand, especially in the neighborhoods that traditional taxis had always underserved. In other words, Uber has broken every one of its promises.

We replaced the "evil taxi cartel" with an "evil taxi monopolist." And it's still losing money.

Even if Lyft goes under – as seems inevitable – Uber can't attain real profitability by scooping up its passengers and drivers. When you're losing money on every ride, you just can't make it up in volume.

Image: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LA_BREA_TAR_PITS,_LOS_ANGELES.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/09/accounting-gimmicks/#unter

Image: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LA_BREA_TAR_PITS,_LOS_ANGELES.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

By John Parker

Once again the corporate media are dusting off their anti-communist campaign of blatant lies and misinformation to sell the U.S. government’s line about supposed massacres carried out by the Chinese Communist Party 35 years ago.

Since 1989, however, irrefutable evidence — from Wikileaks documents to eyewitness reports — has exposed the blatant falsehoods promoted as gospel truth by Western capitalist governments and their loyal media.

Read Part 2 here: https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2019/06/12/the-evolving-tiananmen-square-narrative/

[fruityforsaari]

Youngest School Shooters

List requirements:

a. Physically hold the gun

b. Purposefully fire the gun

c. Have an intended target

1. Dedrick Owens (6) – Killing of Kayla Rolland

Deaths: 1 Injuries: 0

Date: February 29, 2000

Location: Flint, Michigan

- Unnamed boy (6) – Shooting of Abby Zwerner

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 1

Date: January 6, 2023

Location: Newport News, Virginia

3. Unnamed boy (9) – Washington Elementary STEM Magnet School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 3

Date: November 14, 2019

Location: Pasadena, California

- Unnamed boy (9) - Kanebogen School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 0

Date: April 28, 2009

Location: Kanebogen, Norway

5. David Mota Nogueira (10) – Shooting of Rosileide Queiros de Oliveira

Deaths: 1 Injuries: 1

Date: September 22, 2011

Location: Sao Caetano do Sul, Sao Paulo, Brazil

6. Jose Angel Ramos Betts (11) – Colegio Cervantes School Shooting

Deaths: 2 Injuries: 6

Date: January 10, 2022

Location: Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico

- Andrew Golden (11) – Westside Middle School Shooting

(With Mitchell Johnson (13)) Deaths: 5 Injuries: 10

Date: March 29, 1998

Location: Craighead county, Arkansas

8. Jose Reyes (12) – Sparks Middle School Shooting

Deaths: 2 Injuries: 2

Date: February 1, 2018

Location: Sparks, Nevada

- Unnamed boy (12) – Viertola School Shooting

Deaths: 1 Injuries: 2

Date: April 2, 2024

Location: Vantaa, Finland

- Unnamed girl (12) – Sal Castro Middle School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 5

Date: February 1, 2018

Location: Los Angeles, California

- Mason Campbell (12) – Berrendo Middle School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 3

Date: January 14, 2014

Location: Roswell, New Mexico

- Unnamed girl (12) – Rigby Middle School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 3

Date: May 6, 2021

Location: Rigby, Idaho

- Unnamed boy (12) – Tanglewood Middle School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 1

Date: March 31, 2022

Location: Greenwood, South Carolina

- Unnamed boy (12) – Madison Park Academy School Shooting

Deaths: 0 Injuries: 1

Date: August 29, 2022

Location: Oakland, California

Links

Other data: https://www.statista.com/statistics/971544/number-k-12-school-shootings-us-age-shooter/

https://www.mlive.com/news/2020/02/20-years-after-kayla-rolland-the-fatal-first-grade-shooting-that-sparked-a-national-gun-debate.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-details-emerge-6-year-old-boy-shot-virginia-teacher-got-moms-gun-rcna98995

https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/national/boy-shoots-classmates-with-gun-california-elementary-school/UPXQMQY222BxssdnJNHHPK/

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanebogen_School

https://en.inform.kz/news/ten-year-old-shoots-teacher-kills-himself-in-brazil_a2407452/

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colegio_Cervantes_shooting

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Westside_Middle_School_shooting#Andrew_Golden

Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Sparks_Middle_School_shooting

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/01/us/los-angeles-sal-castro-middle-school-shooting/index.html

https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/10-years-later-berrendo-middle-school-shooting-victim-says-scars-still-seem-fresh/

https://apnews.com/article/shootings-greenville-south-carolina-fc9a3682ad7a1a0e33d6c7d447240b6d

https://www.ktvu.com/news/13-year-old-shot-at-oaklands-madison-park-academy-suspect-in-custody

The two I missed:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/06/us/idaho-middle-school-shooting/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viertola_school_shooting

[jiinjiinjarra]

⭒ Jin & Jungkook Naver Links ⭒

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 2020-2023 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2020 year:

2020-09-17 Welcome, is this your first Big Hit post? ★

2020-09-17 Why? do we look like BB HOT100 #1 artist? ★

2020-09-29 Bangtan's wishes for Chuseok! ★

2020-10-09 Dynamite Promotion BTS: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

2020-10-31 Halloween 2020 with BTS! ★

2020-11-11 Season's Greetings 2021 ★

2020-11-16 Season's Greetings 2021 ★

2020-11-30 [BE] Rooms + Life Goes On MV Behind ★

2020-12-02 A special message from BTS has arrived for everyone taking exams! ★

2020-12-24 ARMY! Happy Holidays! ★

2020-12-31 2019-2020 Selcas: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

2021 year:

2021-01-11 Yoongi's Mini Banners + Selcas ★

2021-01-18 Selcas 2019-2021: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

2021-02-04 Winter Package ★

2021-02-11 Happy New Year! ★

2021-03-12 Life Goes On stage review time! ★

2021-04-18 U-Quiz for ARMY! Behind the scenes! ★

2021-04-25 MOTS ONE CONCEPT PHOTOBOOK ★

2021-06-05 2021 BTS FESTA Banglim. Welcome to the photo studio! ★

2021-07-26 The screen of BTS It's so pretty and nice to have so many fans ★

2021-08-02 ARMY's Monday blues therapist, Bangrim! ★

2021-08-18 Anything before ARMYs click on this post is unacceptable! ★

2021-09-19 BTS, it's sweeter than the Chuseok holiday! ★

2021-10-01 Beh1nd-7he-scenes of mak1ng 7he ARMY! ★

2021-10-01 Film Camera with BTS ★

2021-11-02 2022 with BTS is already a hit! ★

2021-11-08 BTS + ARMY ⭐ No problem star ⭐︎ ★

2021-11-10 UNGA SDG Moment ★

2021-12-24 ARMY! Happy Holidays~❤︎: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

2022 year:

2022-01-27 GQ&VOGUE behind-the-scenes ★

2022-03-05 PTD On Stage LA Concert Behind The Scenes ★

2022-03-23 Behind the Deco Kit ★

2022-06-22 Behind the scenes of 'Proof' music show ★

2022-09-02 Me, Myself, and Jungkook Behind the Scenes ★

2022-11-08 Us, Ourselves, and BTS 'We' behind-the-scenes ★

2022-11-10 진 (Jin) ‘The Astronaut’ Film Camera Photo ★

2022-11-15 Jin ‘The Astronaut’ Promotion Period Gift!: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

2022-12-03 Me, Myself, and Jin Behind the Scenes ★

2023 year:

2023-02-10 Jungkook FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Behind the Scenes: Pt.1 ★ & Pt.2 ★

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jinkook 'Traffic Lights' Photo Indicator:

green star '★' - there is 'ultimate' jinkook photo in the post (only 🐹🐰 on the picture - no other members)

orange star '★' - 'if you crop - you see jinkook'

red star '★' - only solo or 'far far away' group photos

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[staydandy]

The Locked Room (2019) - 上锁的房间 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Because of an accident, a man who possesses godly skills at opening locks catches the eye of a female detective and they go on to solve cases together. Mu Xia is a talented locksmith. While dealing with a strange murder case within a locked room, Qin Zuo Man inadvertently discovers that Mu Xia is the new security consultant hired by the police academy. As more locked room cases arise, the determined Qin Zuo Man, the monotonous Mu Xia and celebrity cop Tan You join hands to form an investigative team that seeks to uncover the truth through every door. (MDL)

Whumpee : Mu Xia played by Jin Shi Jia (left) • Tan You played by Chen Yi Long (3 eps) (right)

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Action, Mystery, Crime

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • This is an adaption of the original Japanese drama of the same name, which aired in 2012. • Both dramas are adapted from the novel “Kagi no Kakatta Heya” (鍵のかかった部屋) by Kishi Yusuke (貴志祐介) • TW : Suicide, SA

Episodes on List : 16 Total Episodes : 26

*Spoilers below*

03 : (near end) Mu Xia slapped (comedic) … ear ringing, pain, pushed down to avoid explosion, gasping

04 : [flashback / replay] Ear ringing, pain, pushed down to avoid explosion

05 : (TW @ 6:00 suicide) … (near end) Mu Xia & Tan You in car accident, Tan You's leg hurt, carried

06 : (TW @ 18:00 suicide) … (near end) Mu Xia's ear ringing, traumatic flashback, unsteady

07 : Ear ringing, unsteady, collapses, gasping

10 : Tunneled hearing, dazed … [imagination of himself in place of the victim] locked in a casket, suffocating, [real life] gasps a breath

12 : Revealed to have hearing loss in his left ear

13 : (near end) Ear ringing

14 : [imagination of himself in place of the victim] Suffocating, [real life] gasps a breath

15 : [imagination of himself in place of the victim] Heart trouble, pain

16 : (TW @ 15:40 suicide .. @ 31:00 SA)

21 : (near end) Shot … wakes in hospital … falls on his injured arm, passes out, wakes briefly, passes out again (idk why those jaw movements intrigue me so - was he trying to say something? did they cut out audio? is it a reaction to pain or shock?)

22 : Hospitalized … leaves the hospital, staggering … Tan You knocked out by an explosion … Mu Xia ear ringing, pain, collapses … knocked down by an explosion

23 : … continued from previous ep. ... Helped to walk … Tan You hospitalized … revealed Mu Xia's hearing loss is a result of mental trauma

24 : Hit in the back of the head with a bat, drugged, passes out … captured, tied up.. choked.. drugged … chest pain, collapse … [on video feed] suffering from symptoms from being drugged; rolling around in pain … [real life] hallucinating; choking himself, fighting something not there

25 : … continued from previous ep. ... Nearly non-responsive, severely dehydrated … drugged again.. hallucinating

26 : … continued from previous ep. ... Hospitalized … left the hospital AMA (against medical advice), unsteady

[lurksunderthebed]

Ghoap Analysis/Meta (1?)

The Evolution of GhostSoap Redux

Continuing thoughts on how Ghost and Soap's relationship has changed over the course of mw(19), mwii(22) and mwiii(23)

Spread out amongst several posts. This will be long 😅

(Part 1)

BEWARE SPOILERS TO MWIII(23) !

I've had time to settle my thoughts on Ghostsoap in mwiii (23) and this will go more into depth of the re-contextualising of Ghost and Soap's relationship in mwii (22) from the verdansk mission: "Flashpoint".

Flashpoint is set 4 years to mwiii(23). The game places it as April 6, 2019. This is important to us because it sets a different potential first mission (meet cute lmao) between the two and thus changes the tone of their interactions in mwii (22)

So let's set up a timeline with the available dates. Thankfully, the game sets some very concrete dates for us. Not all missions are included.*

2019

Flashpoint - April 06, 2019

First canonical appearance of SAS Ghost and Soap

Ghost provides sniper cover for Soap

Price/Soap capture Makarov and transport him to a helo with Ghost and Shepherd

There's a failed interrogation by Ghost and Soap.

Makarov implies he has met Ghost before and thought him dead at an airport

2019 Mw(19)

Piccadilly - Oct 25, 2019

First canonical appearance of SAS Gaz

Gaz is attached to Met Counter Terrorist Police. This implies he has worked largely in his career in conjunction to the Police. It's unknown whether he met Soap or Ghost before.

First meet of Gaz and Price to combat terrorists in London

Old Comrades - Oct 31, 2019

Gaz meets Nikolai

Interrogation scene. Arguably strengthens Gaz and Price's relationship

Into the Furnace - Nov 03, 2019

Last mission, they kill general barkov

Credit Scene - Nov 03-04, 2019* (hypothetical)

Laswell and Price form task force 141

Price seconds Ghost, Soap, Gaz. This implies that Price has worked with Soap and Ghost on missions for x amount of years. It's Gaz who was the surprise recruit.

2020 Cod Warzone

Season 2 - Mar 2020

First appearance of 141 Ghost

Unknown amount of 141 stationed in Verdansk. Ghost asks for backup.

Season 3 - Apr 2020

Armistice dissolved

Price and Gaz show up to help Ghost

Implied- unknown amount of 141 to Verdansk (possible meeting of Soap and Ghost)

Season ? - Dec 2020

Price kills Zakaev

First appearance (via call) of 141 Soap asking for backup in Verdansk

Price, Ghost, Gaz, Farah etc backup Soap who is somewhere else in Verdansk getting pinned down by enemies

2022 Mwii(22)

Strike - July 15, 2022

Ghost calls an airstrike on Ghorbrani with the aid of Shadow Company

Hindsight - Aug 12, 2022

Shepherd/Shadow Company loses American missiles to terroists

Kill or Capture - Oct 28, 2022

Ghost gets assigned Soap as his sergeant for Al Mazhrah mission to kill or capture Hassan

They find American missiles instead

Cartel Protection - Oct 30, 2022

Ghost/Soap meet Ale/Rudy in Las Almas

They fight the Mexican army under control of the cartels

RV with Graves/Shadow Comp.

El Sin Nombre - Nov 01, 2022

Soap infils cartel mansion

Valeria is revealed as El Sin Nombre

They take her into custody

Dark Water - Nov 02, 2022

Boat/oil rig mission with Shadow company

Missile launch averted by Ghost, Soap and Graves

Alone - Nov 03, 2022

Graves and Shepherd betray 141/mexi bros

Ghost and Soap get out of Las Almas

RV at ale's hideout with Rudy

Prison Break - Nov 03, 2022

Ghost, Soap, Rudy break out ale from prison

Meet up with Price/Gaz

Ghost Team - Nov 03, 2022

141 with mexi bros take back mexi bros base

Soap and Rudy "kill" Graves

Countdown - Nov 04, 2022

Stop missile launch in Chicago

Ghost and Soap kill Hassan

2023 Mwiii (23)

Operation 627 - Oct 13, 2023

Makarov breaks out of prison

Reactor - Nov 10, 2023

141 find out that Makarov escaped

141 assaults konni base

Price finds chemical weapons (almost died)

Payload - Nov 11, 2023

141 split up to stop missile launch of chemical weapons

They fail to stop 2 missiles to Russia

Oligarch - Nov 12, 2023

Ghost/Soap island mission to find Makarov's financier

Interrogation of Milena for Makarov's location

Frozen Tundra - Nov 14, 2023

141 ambush konni convoy

Find Shepherd was Makarov's prisoner

Interrogate him on Makarov's location

Gora Dam - Nov 16, 2023

Ghost/Soap split up to stop chemical weapons in Verdansk

Trojan Horse - Nov 21, 2023

141 split up in London tunnels to stop Makarov from using chemical weapons in subway system

So now that's done. I've mostly ignored Farah and Alex and focused on Price, Ghost, Gaz, Soap and Nikolai as it pertains to relationships within the core group of Price/Ghost/Gaz/Soap.

What can we make of this ?

Well, a couple things.

We can now say that from 2019 to the events of "Kill or Capture" in 2022, Ghost and Soap have most likely worked together on missions before. The timeline shows that they at least had to have met in Dec 2020 in Verdansk as Soap had called for backup to Price and group.

That makes it actually at least 3 years of knowledge of each other prior to mwii(22). So a total of 4 years + potentially at the start of mwiii(23).

It also shows us how quickly their relationship changed from the Alone mission in '22 despite the 3 years of prior knowledge they had since '19.

Let it be said that it took 1 week, ONLY 7 DAYS!! to change Ghost and Soap's relationship. 7 days out of a total at least 3 years total.

Ghost started at not even bothering to name Soap in 2019, to presumably basic Soap/Mactavish/sergeant for the next 3 years.

Cut to the events in mwii(22). Lets say beginning at "Kill or Capture" and finishing at "Alone" and suddenly Ghost ends up having made up his own personal nickname that no one else can use for Soap in just those 7 days.

I posit that this was in part due to "Kill or Capture" in '22 being the first mission that Soap has directly worked under Ghost's command.

This is all hypotheticals and guesswork so take it as you may.

Assuming Ghost was mainly a solo mission sort of guy, let's also assume he mostly helped as sniper overwatch if he ever had team missions (like in Flashpoint). Most 141 missions have him taking that position as well, so it's safe to say he is support most of the time.

Given that assumption, it's also likely that Soap and Ghost had to have interacted mainly on comms and any physical meeting would be restricted to transport via heli or otherwise.

It's possible Soap and Ghost have worked together on a more physical basis (aka Ghost leading Soap on a squad), but given how much Ghost seemed to be testing Soap in "Kill or Capture" I find that somewhat unlikely.

In 2019 we see how brusque Ghost is with Soap. It's very likely that Ghost was largely monosyllabic with Soap pre or post missions to Flashpoint.

Considering Soap's propensity to chatter in 2022 and 2023, it's also very likely Soap annoyed the hell out of Ghost on comms. Lol.

This could explain why Ghost was so dismissive of having Soap as his sergeant in "Kill or Capture", despite working together 3 years ago.

I, and arguably most of fandom had theorised that "Kill or Capture" was the first mission that Soap and Ghost ever had together. And we weren't quite right, but we weren't completely wrong either.

With Flashpoint, it's obvious now that was not quite true. It even suggests in it that Ghost and Soap had worked together prior to even that, as there was no formal introduction between the two.

This dramatically changes how Ghost's dialogue and Soap's to a lesser degree can be read in mwii(22) and implies much much more if you consider how they interact with each other in '23.

So why does it matter when Ghost and Soap's relationship started?

With mwiii(23) we can now definitively tell when Ghost and Soap's relationship changed. We now have a rough basis of a timeline and we can track down the differences between '19 -'22 and then '22- '23. Its important because we can see how their relationship deepens and how it changed within a span of 3 years, 7 compelling days and 1 heartwrenching year later.

For all that mwiii(23) was lax with explicit Ghostsoap moments, it's rich in how much context we gain to their relationship. We see how Ghost changes and how his relationships differ between 141. It's an interesting and compelling look at both Ghost and Soap's characters.

In this discussion I separate this analysis into 3 parts. Part 2 will cover the implications of "Flashpoint" on mwii (22), with discussion line by line. Part 3 will most likely go over comparisons a year makes from the events in '22 to '23. (This might be subject to change as I get further into the analysis)

Onto Part 2.

+

[oda-princess]

Oops! I'm sorry for tagging you guys in that @fighting-and-drawing And @olivermorningstar

Here are some picrews that can be used for male ocs!