#End-to-End Recruitment Software

[mayspicer]

Girl help I really need to do the test tasks for a new job or else my life is gonna get very bad real soon, but all I want to do is draw ttrpg characters.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Announcing the Picks and Shovels book tour

This week only, Barnes and Noble is offering 25% off pre-orders of my forthcoming novel Picks and Shovels.

My next novel, Picks and Shovels, is officially out in the US and Canada on Feb 17, and I'm about to leave on a 20+ city book-tour, which means there's a nonzero chance I'll be in a city near you between now and the end of the spring!

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels

Picks and Shovels is a standalone novel starring Martin Hench – my hard-charging, two-fisted, high-tech forensic accountant – in his very first adventure, in the early 1980s. It's a story about the Weird PC era, when no one was really certain what shape PCs should be, who should make them, who should buy them, and what they're for. It features a commercial war between two very different PC companies.

The first one, Fidelity Computing, is a predatory multi-level marketing faith scam, run by a Mormon bishop, a Catholic priest, and an orthodox rabbi. Fidelity recruits people to exploit members of their faith communities by selling them third-rate PCs that are designed as rip-off lock-ins, forcing you to buy special floppies for their drives, special paper for their printers, and to use software that is incompatible with everything else in the world.

The second PC company is Computing Freedom, a rebel alliance of three former Fidelity Computing sales-managers: an orthodox woman who's been rejected by her family after coming out as queer; a Mormon woman who's rejected the Church over its opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment, and a nun who's quit her order to join the Liberation Theology movement in the struggle for human rights in America's dirty wars.

In the middle of it all is Martin Hench, coming of age in San Francisco during the PC bubble, going to Dead Kennedys shows, getting radicalized by ACT UP!, and falling in love – all while serving as CFO and consigliere to Computing Freedom, as a trade war turns into a shooting war, and they have to flee for their lives.

The book's had fantastic early reviews, with endorsements from computer historians like Steven Levy (Hackers), Claire Evans (Broad-Band), John Markoff (What the Doormouse Said) and Dan'l Lewin (CEO of the Computer History Museum). Stephen Fry raved that he "hugely enjoyed" the "note perfect," "superb" story.

And I'm about to leave on tour! I have nineteen confirmed dates, and two nearly confirmed dates, and there's more to come! I hope you'll consider joining me at one of these events. I've got a bunch of fantastic conversation partners joining me onstage and online, and the bookstores that are hosting me are some of my favorite indie booksellers in the world.

BOSTON (Feb 14): Boskone, 4PM, Westin Boston Seaport District

BOSTON (Feb 14): Brookline Booksmith with KEN LIU, 7PM, 279 Harvard Street, Brookline

VIRTUAL (Feb 15): YANIS VAROUFAKIS, sponsored by Jacobin and hosted by David Moscrop, 10AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern, 6PM UK, 7PM CET

MENLO PARK (Feb 17): Kepler’s Books with CHARLIE JANE ANDERS, 7PM, 1010 El Camino Real

LOS ANGELES (Feb 18): Diesel Bookstore with WIL WHEATON, 630PM, 225 26th Street, Santa Monica

SEATTLE (Feb 19): Third Place Books with DAN SAVAGE, 7PM, 17171 Bothell Way NW Lake Forest Park

TORONTO (Feb 23): Another Story, 630PM, 315 Roncesvalles Ave

NYC (Feb 26): The Strand with JOHN HODGMAN, 7PM, 828 Broadway

PENN STATE (Feb 27): Kern Auditorium, 7PM, 112 Kern Building

DOYLESTOWN (Mar 1): Doylestown Bookshop, 12PM, 16 S Main St

BALTIMORE (Mar 2): Red Emma’s, 2PM, 630PM, 3128 Greenmount Ave

DC (Mar 4): Cleveland Park Library with MATT STOLLER, 630PM, 3310 Connecticut Ave NW

RICHMOND (Mar 5): Fountain Bookstore with LEE VINSEL, 6PM, 1312 E Cary St

AUSTIN (Mar 10): First Light Books, 7PM, 4300 Speedway/43rd

BURBANK (Mar 13): Dark Delicacies, 6PM, 822 N. Hollywood Way

SAN DIEGO (Mar 24): Mysterious Galaxy, 7PM, 3555 Rosecrans

BELFAST (Mar 24) (remote): Imagine! Festival with ALAN MEBAN, 7PM UK

CHICAGO, Apr 2: Exile in Bookville with PETER SAGAL, 7PM, 410 S Michigan Ave, 2nd floor

BLOOMINGTON, Apr 4: Morgenstern Books, 6PM, 642 N Madison St

PDX, Jun 20 (TBC): Powell’s Books (date and time to be confirmed)

I'm also finalizing plans for one or two dates in NEW ZEALAND at the end of April, as well as a ATLANTA date, likely on March 26.

I really hope you'll come out and say hello. I know these are tough times. Hanging out with nice people who care about the same stuff as you is a genuine tonic.

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/2025/02/06/picks-and-shovels-tour/#19-cities-plus-plus

[splonk-fox]

The Psychology of The Dark Lord: An AvA Character Analysis

One of the most popular characters to ever be featured in the Animator vs. Animation universe is none other than The Dark Lord.

First being introduced in the penultimate episode of Season 1, the Dark Lord quickly gained prominence after his reintroduction in Season 2 a whole seven years later where, despite being (supposedly) killed off in that same season, quickly became a fan-favorite. Being used in many fanworks and a lot of fans clamoring to see his return to the series.

Yet, despite how popular he is, I feel like a good majority of the fandom don't really understand the Dark Lord's character. A lot of fans tend to depict him as things that he really isn't. Whether it be a caring friend to the Chosen One, or a tragic figure turned to villainy because of his creator's negligence, and while I have nothing wrong with deviating from canon a little bit when it comes to how you choose to portray characters, it did make me curious. Who is the Dark Lord, really. Well? To understand that. I think we must first understand where the Dark Lord's story started.

The Dark Lord first debuted in Animator vs. Animation 3. Created by the (at the time) villainous Alan Becker in order to destroy the Chosen One, he spends most of his screentime in this episode doing exactly that.

There's actually quite a lot we can learn about the Dark Lord from this first episode a lone. For starters, Dark likes destruction, a lot. The moment he sees Chosen the first thing he does is throw massive fireballs at him, destroying massive chunks of the the animation software they are both fighting on.

He also isn't above using the environment itself in order to give himself the upperhand, as seen by how he uses pieces of the animation program to attack Chosen throughout their one-on-one.

Another thing to note about Dark's fighting style is that he tends to work best when he has a group of minions assisting him. This is shown when he recruits the various Windows Applications to assist him in battle.

Generally speaking, Dark Lord is shown to be a pretty good improvisor, he has no trouble using the environment around him to his advantage along with coming up with plans to overwhelm Chosen on the fly as seen with the Windows Applications.

Aside from that, Dark is also a pretty big fan of going on the offensive. He immediately attacks the Chosen One without giving him a chance to really prepare himself, and he continues to try and overwhelm him while the latter mostly goes on the defensive.

This already shows a contrast between how Chosen and Dark operate. Aside from his introduction in Animator vs. Animation 2 and the beginning of Animator vs. Animation 3, Chosen is almost never the one to throw the first punch in any battle. More often than not he's the one responding to other characters' aggression.

What's more interesting than his fighting style however, is how Dark responds to his enemies getting the upperhand.

For context's sake, this is what happens after Chosen destroys the Minesweeper game Dark was trapped in using Firefox. We see here that the moment Dark is overwhelmed, he begins to cower in fear. It's scenes like this alongside other scenes that happen later in the series that make it very clear that Dark is only as strong as his ability to have the upperhand on his foes, the moment they get a leg up over him, he loses all fight and begins to cower.

We also get a taste of Dark's loyalty (or rather lack thereof) at the end of this episode. While we obviously don't know exactly what Chosen said to convince Dark to rebel against his creator, from an outsider's perspective all it really took for Dark to change sides was Chosen going "Hey you should stop fighting me and help beat the shit out of our creator instead." and him just going "okay."

You will see later on that Dark's willingness to forgo any loyalty to his allies is not exclusive to just Alan.

Now I should say, before anyone points this out, I'm aware that the popular consensus of Dark's change of heart at the end of Animator vs. Animation 3 had to do with the fact that Alan essentially left him to fend for himself against Chosen, and while this is true in a sense, there's no actual confirmation that this was Dark's reasoning.

Following Dark and Chosen's teamup, the two would destroy Alan's PC, escaping just in time before everything blows up.

I should note that, again, like with what we saw in Animator vs. Animation 3, the moment everything starts breaking, Dark just sort of freezes up and begins panicking while Chosen takes on a more proactive role, immediately running to the WIFI route and breaking it open for them to escape.

Yet again, Dark shows himself unable to handle situations where he isn't in control.

Regardless, one thing that can't be denied about the events of Animator vs. Animation 3 is that the destruction of Alan's PC clearly gave Dark a taste for destruction. Or should I say it gave him an even bigger taste in destroying things than he already had.

We learn through dates given by Animator vs. Animation 11 that following the events of Animator vs. Animation 3, Chosen and Dark went on a several month long rampage across the internet, destroying many websites and endangering countless lives in the process.

Now granted, the time they spent causing copious amount of destruction is actually a lot shorter than we first suspected. I and many other fans had the impression that everything we saw in the Flashback happened across the course of many years from 2011 to 2018, but this turned out not to be the case.

As of me writing this, the last known rampage the two went on together was in NewGrounds, which seemed to be by far the biggest of the bunch.

Prior to Animator vs. Animation 11, the only thing we really knew of the NewGrounds rampage was the single image you see above, but the rlease of that episode proved this incident to be far more devastating than we first suspected, it being the thing that would result in the death of Victim's partner Mitsi, leading to his fall to villainy.

Dark's overall screentime in Animator vs. Animation 11 is relatively short all things considered, only really appearing at the end. But it's also incredibly insightful when it comes to figuring out his character.

I mentioned this in my mini-analysis of the Chosen One's actions in Animator vs. Animation 11 (which you should totally check out by the way), but Dark's general disposition in this episode clearly shows off an aura of pride and arrogance.

Unlike Chosen whose emotions are... kind of impossible to read at least from a body language perspective, Dark clearly takes joy in the destruction he's causing and show's a general disregard for the lives of others as opposed to himself.

What Dark got up to after the NewGrounds rampage isn't exactly made clear, whether he continued destroying websites or settled down for awhile until 2018 when the events of Animator vs. Animation Season 2 would occur is unknown. What is known however is that while Chosen began having second thoughts about what they were doing, Dark only became more and more hellbent on the destruction of everything and everyone in sight.

When it comes down to it, both "The Flashback" and "The Showdown" are easily paint the clearest picture of the Dark Lord as a person.

Starting with The Flashback. We clearly see in this episode that following the destruction of Alan's PC, not only was Dark incredibly proud of his and Chosen's accomplishment, but that he had no intentions of stopping there.

We already know what happened with Chosen and Dark's rampage on the internet, now it's time we talk about what happens in the "present day" (or at least, the present day from an Animator vs. Animation Season 2 perspective)

In the time spent between their intial rampage and the events of Season 2, Dark shows off his technical prowess in the form of the ViraBots. Large, parasitic, spider-like entities who's sole purpose is to consume and destroy everything in sight. We see in the Showdown that Dark has direct control over everything that the ViraBots do and don't appear to have any free will of their own, the only ViraBot that seems to have any form of autonomy was the one he sent to Alan's PC, and even then it's possible that he was controlling that one as well seeing as he's seen working at one of his computers in the Showdown when Chosen first confronts him.

Keep in mind that this episode takes place directly after Chosen saved Alan's computer from the ViraBot, so I don't think it's out of the question to assume that this is what Dark has been up to during the events of those episodes.

Theories aside Dark continues to show off his pride in The Flashback where, after Chosen enters their shared home, he quickly shows excitement at his arrival before showing off the capabilities of the spines that the ViraBots use.

Clearly, Dark Lord has a lot of pride in his creations and wants Chosen to be excited too. He even goes as far as to send the very first one all the way back to their creator's PC for some good ol' revenge, likely thinking that Chosen would be more on board with his idea by sending it to the one person he should hate the most, oh how wrong he was.

Now, Dark's relationship with Chosen is a pretty big factor in his overall character and I do want to talk about that in more detail, but I first want to address the infamous "betrayal" scene.

To start things off simple, once again Dark shows his overall lack of genuine loyalty to his allies here by immediately dropping any and all friendliness with Chosen and attacking him with a fireball the moment the other shows objection to his plans. He shows very little hesitation in doing so and, despite what others may claim, was very clearly the aggressor in this situation. Chosen made no attempts to seriously harm Dark before Dark made attempts to seriously harm him.

The worst thing Chosen did at the beginning was throw Dark to the floor after the other refused to let up on sending the first ViraBot to Alan's computer, which in comparison to Dark's more destructive reaction, was overall pretty tame, and that's neglecting to point out that Chosen tried the passive approach at first and only got physical when Dark refused.

It's a hotly debated subject among the fandom as to who exactly betrayed who here, and quite frankly it doesn't really matter all that much, though for the sake of this analysis, let's explore the concept of "betrayal" and who between the two of them fits the definition more objectively.

According to Google, betrayal is defined as

"the action of betraying one's country, a group, or a person; treachery."

Now this alone doesn't really tell us anything about what it means to betray someone, luckily we have this definition from Vocabulary.com that gives us a more clear picture of what a betrayal actually is.

"Betrayal means "an act of deliberate disloyalty,"

So, at it's core betrayal means an act of deliberate disloyalty, which means that, unfortunately for Dark Lord defenders, means that he objectively fits the definition of betrayal more.

Chosen trying to stop Dark from releasing the ViraBot onto Alan's computer is not an act of disloyalty, it's merely him disagreeing with Dark's ideas, the closest you thing you can get to "disloyalty" from Chosen is him trying to shut down Dark's machine. Which really doesn't mean anything because as far as we know, Chosen never actually intended to double-cross Dark, he just wanted to stop him from sending a code-eating virus over to his creator's PC.

What can be classified as an act of deliberate disloyalty however is attacking your so-called best friend with a fucking fireball and immediately throwing hands with him before promptly doing the exact thing said best friend didn't want him doing in the first place. and I haven't even mentioned the ViraBands.

In case some of you didn't catch on from the episode, Dark Lord's ViraBands seem to have a built in feature that gives him immunity to Chosen's eye lasers. We see this in action when he quite literally surfs across them after he equips his first ViraBand.

My good friend @xjackjackx was the one to bring this to my attention and I feel it only strengthens my point, so big thanks to him for this little bit of trivia.

Regardless, this shows that even prior to this interaction, Dark had already gone out of his way to make a Wristband that was specifically designed to counter Chosen. Which either means he was planning on turning against him way sooner, or that he simply installed this as a keepsafe, likely having noticed how Chosen was beginning to have second thoughts about their destruction. In any case Dark clearly didn't trust Chosen enough to believe that his friend would stay by his side to not specifically invent a weapon that would give him the upperhand in a battle against him specifically.

This little big of trivia regarding the ViraBands' laser immunity actually does a lot to recontexualize their eventual falling out. Instead of Dark simply being excited to show Chosen his new invention and the latter not liking it, now it almost seems as if he was testing him. Testing him to see if Dark's plans to infest the Outernet with ViraBots was a step too far for Chosen. It would even explain why the example he showed of the ViraBots' capabilities was by destroying a globe, he was trying to test how far he could push Chosen before the other decided enough was enough.

It would also explain why Dark was so quick to resort to violence during their falling out, he had likely already seen this coming and had prepared himself for this exact interaction.

Now granted, a lot of this is speculation, and I'm not denying that, but I do at least think it's worth talking about, especially in regards to what is without a doubt the biggest point of contention with the Dark Lord's character...

His relationship with the Chosen One

This is definitely where opinions of Dark tend to differ the most. Either he and Chosen had a genuinely good relationship and that his actions in the Showdown were a product of him feeling both angry and betrayed by his former friend. Or conversely, that Dark never really cared much for Chosen to begin with. I've even seen some argue that Dark's actions are a result of his programming, Alan made him specifically to destroy the Chosen One after all, so perhaps this was simply him letting go.

Personally, I don't see much merit behind that interpretation, as far as we can tell Dark is completely unaffected by his programming and can basically do whatever the fuck he wants, unless you want to argue that he spent the past seven years holding back on his urges until Chosen conveniently decided to go against him.

Either way, that's not the point of this section. The point of this section is to analyze Chosen and Dark's relationship from as an objective level as humanly possible.

And... this is where I unfortunately have to throw in the towel, at least somewhat. The fact is we don't get enough of what Chosen and Dark's relationship was like beyond the snippets we see in the Flashback and Animator vs. Animation 11. What their relationship was like during the six years that followed their rampage is completely unknown and the best we can do is speculate. That said I do believe that by using context clues we could at least get a decent picture of what Chosen and Dark's relationship could've been like.

For starters, contrary to popular belief, it does seem like Dark had some sort of awareness of Chosen's change of heart. The mere existence of the ViraBands does enough to tell me that this was already something he had been suspecting long before their eventual falling out.

The second thing I should point out is that when it comes to the interactions that we do see, it seems kind of... one-sided. In the sense that while Dark is out here causing all of this destruction and enjoying it, Chosen does not, yet as we see in Animator vs. Animation 11 it seems like, at the beginning, Dark seemed to think he had a genuine comradery with Chosen, what with how he held up his hand for a high-five in that episode.

Generally speaking, I think Dark thought he had a positive relationship with Chosen until later down the line. At some point, he seemed to realize Chosen wasn't as enthusiastic about what they were doing as he thought, and so he created the ViraBands as a sort of keepsafe for if the other ever ends up turning against him.

With all this being said, what this does tell us is that Dark's habit of betraying his allies once it proves ideal is still very much a character trait of his long after he turned against his creator in Animator vs. Animation 3.

So do I think Dark just simply didn't care about Chosen? Ehhh, I think it's a little bit more complicated than that.

Something I haven't really gone into much detail on but I do think is important to Dark's character is the overall relationship he has with power.

I mentioned at the beginning of this analysis that Dark shows the most confidence when he has some form of power over his opponent.

In Animator vs. Animation 3, he confidently fights against Chosen because from a logical level, he has the advantage. He has Alan to help him fight Chosen, he also has the Windows Applications to help him fight. From his perspective he is the one with the most power in the situation.

During the NewGrounds rampage, Dark shows his power over his victims by destroying their homes and ending their lives, yet again he's in a position of power and shows himself to be incredibly prideful about it.

As for Season 2? Beyond being able to cause as much destruction as he possibly can, him attempting to sicc the ViraBots onto the rest of the Outernet is, again, a pretty big show of power.

When it comes to his fights with Chosen, Dark shows himself to be at his most agile and boastful once he equips the ViraBands and sends out the ViraBots.

See here that Dark has his arms out towards Alan's cursor as the ViraBots attack it, almost as if to say "come and get me". He is taunting him because he has the leg up on him, he has the power and he's exerting it over his enemies.

This is all to say, Dark absolutely loves to feel in control, perhaps out of some form of insecurity over losing his first fight to Chosen? Who knows, regardless it's pretty clear that Dark loves to feel strong. It's why I believe he made the ViraBots completely subservient to him, that way he can always have control.

And this all leads me back to Chosen.

I believe that, in a roundabout way, Dark did care about Chosen, but more in the sense that Chosen makes him feel powerful. With Chosen, the two were able to destroy Alan's PC, with Chosen, Dark was able to lay waste to many websites, leaving them in complete ruin.

Dark loves power, and Dark "loves" Chosen because he gives him that sense of power.

But what happens when the very person who gives him this sense of power was now actively trying to take it away? Well, you get what happens in Season 2, a Showdown.

Many have noted that Dark, for as brutal as he was with him, never actually tries to kill Chosen, he merely overwhelms him with the ViraBots before setting them off to ravage the internet while Chosen just sits and watches.

Now while you could argue this as simple circumstance, I think a more interesting way to look at it is that Dark is trying to prove a point to Chosen. He's trying to prove that he has the power and that Chosen should know better than to try and take that away from him.

It was never about eliminating Chosen, it was all about proving a point.

But in the end, in an ironic twist of fate, instead of proving that he was the strongest, Dark would end up having his ass handed to him by an Awakened Second Coming, the last thing he sees before being absolutely incinerated (as far as we know) is the green eyes of the stick figure who was so much stronger than he could ever be.

It's rather ironic that the very last thing Dark does before being absolutely pummeled by Second is try to run away. In the end, no matter how much power he attempts to give himself, no matter how confident he would like to make himself seem, Dark is ultimately just as much of a coward as he was all the way back in Animator vs. Animation 3. Because the only thing that truly scares him, is the idea of having absolutely no power or control over his own fate.

Ultimately, this is all my own personal interpretation of the Dark Lord's character. I honestly didn't expect this post to be as long as it was, but the more I dug deeper into the nuances of this character, the more surprised I was by just how interesting he actually was.

This is not to say I believe my way of interpreting Dark is the objectively correct one, but I do feel at least somewhat confident in the conclusions I have come to. I do hope that the upcoming mini-sodes Alan plans on making takes the time to shed some light on the finer details, like what exactly Chosen and Dark's relationship was actually like.

But until then, that'll be all folks! Thanks to everyone who stuck through this entire analysis, I know it was a bit of a lengthy read, but I appreciate it either way. Feel free to leave your own thoughts on this post via reblogs/comments, I would love to see what ya'll think of this analysis.

Anyways, I've yapped long enough. Again, thank you all for reading and I hope to bring you all more things like this in the near future.

[cygnetofthesea]

My own personal headcanon is that Peter and Rose end up owning their own security company where Rose heads the Cybersecurity Division and Peter runs the Military and Security Services Division, which can include acquiring tech for various companies and/or hiring/training individuals to work private contract jobs for high-profile people or witnesses for high-profile cases.

Peter and Rose have a history of going rogue and doing things their own way so now they would have the opportunity to create an organization to provide the kind of services they believe in, take on jobs and clients they believe in, etc. It allows both to work in their field of interest with more autonomy and ownership.

Rose gets to create her own programs and vet her own ethics board before putting certain tech and software out there while Peter gets to help people who are most vulnerable and whose values align with his and Rose's. Maybe he even does guest lectures and training sessions at Quantico for new recruits, if he can be convinced enough.

(This headcanon is mostly because I want them to have a relatively calm life together so they have moments of peace even if their lives are a bit hectic 🥺 Both get to make a difference in their areas of expertise while also making time to have the life they deserve with each other.)

[not-normal-about-shigaraki]

My Hero Academia Ultra Impact - Shigaraki Tomura Voice Collection (ENG Translation)

I decided to go insane so here's a recording of his voice lines in MHAUI + my translations~! ❤️

Warning - I know very little japanese, so it's mostly me spending way too much time in translation software lmaoo. So, please correct me or feel free to add some context here!!

Receiving Gift - I will leave you to it./I'm gonna mark it as token of love (?? Off to a bad start here. I keep hearing "love" here. Is this projection?? Lmao. It amounts to something like the second one, but my translator apps also keep hearing "I'm gonna leave love behind"... Which is also interesting in a way but uh... *Confusion*)

Home Screen 1 - Aah, I hate it… I'm gonna destroy everything that annoys me.

Home Screen 2 - Maa, let's do our best together, okay?

Home Screen (Morning) 1 - You're energetic this early in the morning… I'm still sleepy…

Home Screen (Morning) 2 - Why are you so noisy? I'm not ready yet.

Home Screen (Afternoon) 1 - I'm getting on a roll now… Let's crush the society today.

Home Screen (Afternoon) 2 - Alright… Let's have some tea.

Home Screen (Evening) 1 - I'm seriously motivated... I'm talking about a game. A game.

Home Screen (Evening) 2 - Looks like the world is having fun. They let their guard down/They're so careless.

Home Screen (Night) 1 - The day is coming to an end and the goofy smiling heroes are yet to be destroyed. It's still not enough.

Home Screen (Night) 2 - Villains hide/live in the darkness. I'm starting to see why.

Home Screen (Late Night) 1 - Finally, a response… Someone who can get to work. (I'm pretty sure he literally says "Someone who can move" loool)

Home Screen (Late Night) 2 - Kurogiri, Toga- Hah? Already asleep? Are you little kids? (Not sure if he says Toga here tbh)

Home Screen (Early Morning) 1 - I'm sleepy… Aaah, so sleepy…

Home Screen (Early Morning) 2 - I'm going to sleep now. If you disturb me, I'm gonna destroy you too. (Though my translator also said "Go to bed now or I'm gonna destroy you too". Which, I gotta mention because it was too cute.)

Home Screen (Gift Box) - Look at that. Too good to waste.

Home Screen (Event) - An event? Want to destroy it to kill some time?

Battle Start Dialogue - Izuku Midoriya - At this rate, I feel like something is missing… (??? I have genuinely no clue what he's saying here. That's why I got, dunno.)

Battle Start Dialogue - Dabi - This guy is as rude as ever. So annoying.

Battle Start Dialogue - Himiko Toga - Toga, over there.

Battle Start Dialogue - All For One - Sensei, is it fine if I destroy those guys?

WAVE Progress - I'm feeling a bit better now.

Team Defeated in Battle - Ah… This time it's game over.

Sub-Character Entering Battle - Alright. Continue. (Context - as in, clicking "continue" in a game pause menu lol)

Level Up - Something's changed? I don't feel it.

Awaken - Plus... What is it again? (making fun of the phrase “Plus Ultra!” ~ thank you arakn0 !!)

Ability Board Completion - My brain is spinning round and round…

Login Bonus - Let's begin.

Maintenance - Why are you here? Go home.

Recruit Obtained - [Perdition] Tomura Shigaraki - Paranormal Liberation Front… Well, a name is just a decoration… Do as you like.

6-Month Anniversary Celebration Announcement - Nice. It's called a half-anniversary.

1st Anniversary Celebration Announcement - 1st anniversary… So, what shall we destroy first?

2nd Anniversary Celebration Announcement - It's been 2 years already… It's going well.

[klapollo]

some basic tips for getting a job in this horrible market

hi all -- long story short, as many of you know, i just finished a three+ month job search after being laid off. here's what i learned:

Your resume should be your accomplishments, not your tasks. When I started searching, my bullet points in my resume were things like "used x software" or "wrote x content." Your resume should be you bragging. EX: "I used x software to turn around 100 deliverables a month," "I managed [x amount] sales associates and was named highest commission earner x months in a row." These don't have to be lifechanging things or massive projects -- any metric that demonstrates your capabilities well can do the job.

Make sure your resume is ATS optimized. Most jobs/companies use automated resume processing, and lots of great people get rejected this way. If you're getting rejection emails on Sunday morning or in the middle of the night, these are probably auto-rejections. ATS is the automatic system that sifts through resumes -- you can find free ATS-optimized templates online, I got min through resume.com. Do NOT use fancy graphics, headshots, any extraneous info. Use sites like jobscan to see if your resume is able to be parsed by an auto resume processor.

Use numbers. Make sure your resume has lots of numbers indicating your skills. "I helped my franchise achieve X% of revenue growth," "I drove x amount of deliveries daily." Any impressive numerical amounts are useful. If your company is tight-lipped about numbers, go to press releases. Ex: an app I did a considerable about of work for generated a lot of money that my company disclosed, so I put down that i contributed to that revenue via my work.

Have a template cover letter. Cover letters can give you an advantage, but they're tedious. Take note of what qualities are most sought-after in your field/ideal role, and write a generic cover letter that applies to most of them. When applying, do minor tweaks such as including the company name or any unique qualifications. Be careful about typos and leaving in old tweaks!

Use the free month of LinkedIn Premium if you're on there. I got some results from cold DMing recruiters for jobs I was interested in, and Premium lets you do that freely. Remember to cancel at the end of the month!

If you're looking for remote work, here are some boards I used: Remote.co, Otta, Remote Rocketship, Swooped, Best Writing (writing-focused)

[iww-gnv]

As firms increasingly rely on artificial intelligence-driven hiring platforms, many highly qualified candidates are finding themselves on the cutting room floor. Body-language analysis. Vocal assessments. Gamified tests. CV scanners. These are some of the tools companies use to screen candidates with artificial intelligence recruiting software. Job applicants face these machine prompts – and AI decides whether they are a good match or fall short. Businesses are increasingly relying on them. A late-2023 IBM survey of more than 8,500 global IT professionals showed 42% of companies were using AI screening "to improve recruiting and human resources". Another 40% of respondents were considering integrating the technology. Many leaders across the corporate world hoped AI recruiting tech would end biases in the hiring process. Yet in some cases, the opposite is happening. Some experts say these tools are inaccurately screening some of the most qualified job applicants – and concerns are growing the software may be excising the best candidates. "We haven't seen a whole lot of evidence that there's no bias here… or that the tool picks out the most qualified candidates," says Hilke Schellmann, US-based author of the Algorithm: How AI Can Hijack Your Career and Steal Your Future, and an assistant professor of journalism at New York University. She believes the biggest risk such software poses to jobs is not machines taking workers' positions, as is often feared – but rather preventing them from getting a role at all.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/19/2024

no silly little witticism here this week! just heartfelt thanks for helping me pay my rent this month :)

listening

absolutely wild pick from last week's spotify weekly recommenced, Things Will Fall Apart by Louis Cole feat the Metropole Orkest and conductor Jules Buckley. it's been on loop all week for me and im a little sad it won't pop up in my spotify wrapped

when you make a dance pop song with a full orchestra backing, it has a really interesting effect somewhere between Golden Age of Hollywood swashbuckling film score and marching band?

Yes, understood Things will fall apart just likе they should This little shred was good Don't think it through Things will fall apart, they always do At least, something's always true

the syllables are so choppy they don’t even register to me as English at first, i was fully willing to believe this was German for the first couple lines. like @dying-suffering-french-stalkers, i have a deep fondness for works about putting an era to bed. or works focused on the sunsets of things, or one of the last living practitioners of an art. putting the chairs up on the table, sweeping the floors, and turning the lights out and locking the door behind you. this song has that sort of quiet post-wake-party remembrance.

however once you think the song has ended but it keeps going, you can turn it off. you don’t really need that extra minute and a half of strings and light vocalizations.

Lately, Louis Cole has been doing live shows with the Netherlands’ Metropole Orkest and conductor Jules Buckley. Cole recorded nothing with the ensemble. In a press release, he says, “Sometimes, when I’m mixing my own solo stuff, I’ll feel like a song needs a little magical dust. But mixing an entire orchestra and your own rhythm section, there’s so much human energy! You don’t have to add any magic. It was there the whole time.”

i don’t hear many pop songs this millennium with a full orchestral backing. perhaps i need to look harder. unfortunately spotify took this extreme interest in this song as a newfound extreme interest in electroswing, which is really not what this song is. i hope this artist does more albums like this so they can wear grooves in my brain

-

reading

very hard to focus on anything book length this week. some depressing local news (my local paper's links do Not want to preview nicely here, which is annoying:

At a city council meeting in October, district Vice President Dan Joyce told council members that the management district was not attempting to "criminalize homelessness." The city’s civility ordinance bans people from sitting, lying down or placing personal items or bedding on sidewalks from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

cool piece from our pals at 404 Media. i am So fascinated by crime infrastructure

Based on interviews with malware developers, hackers who use the stolen credentials, and a review of manuals that tell new recruits how to spread the malware, 404 Media has mapped out this industry. Its end result is that a download of an innocent-looking piece of software by a single person can lead to a data breach at a multibillion-dollar company, putting Google and other tech giants in an ever-escalating cat-and-mouse game with the malware developers to keep people and companies safe.

(via longreads) my interest in how and why systems fail extends to invasive species management. plus i used to live in florida just above the everglades and these fuckers (the snakes) were everywhere

[I]magine thousands upon thousands of pythons, their slow digestion transforming each corpse into python muscle and fat. Unaided, Florida’s native wildlife doesn’t stand a chance. “That’s what I think about with every python I catch,” Kalil says. “What it ate to get this big, and the lives I’m saving by removing it.” Biologists are taking a multipronged approach to the issue. They have experimented with enlisting dogs to sniff out both pythons and nests—a technique that has proved difficult in such hot weather and inhospitable landscapes. Ongoing projects use telemetry to track pythons to find “associate snakes.” Researchers use drones, go out in airboats, or even take to helicopters to locate their subjects in the interiors of the Everglades. Always, agencies and individuals are looking for the next best methods. “But for now, the python contractor program is the most successful management effort in the history of the issue,” Kirkland says. “We’re capturing more and more—something that is indicative of the python population out there and indicative of us getting better at what we do.”

-

watching

continuing noirvember, watched hitchcock's Notorious to see if i still dislike hitchcock. the answer is yes. there are bond girls and there are hitchcock girls, and not that bond girls are paragons of female agency in film, but hitchcock girls are mostly fluttering little pathetic things. a scrap of agency they showed in the beginning of the film becomes a running joke and something their noses are rubbed in for the rest of the film. not for me!

patrick mcgoohan is leading me into some real dad-ass movies. Ice Station Zebra (1968, dir. Sturges) is a real you're stuck at home sick with your dad and it's on TV for the whole afternoon kind of movie. they truly do not make two and a half cold war submarine espionage films in super panavision with an overture, intermission, and interact music any more. i get why howard hughes was really obsessed with this one. it is a suspense film, but full of people competently going about their business, which i find oddly comforting.

unfortunately i do not feel this really needed to be two and a half hours long. the loving closeups of sub interiors and instrumentation really did keep me amused, though. despite how cluttered every shot is with actors, there is tremendous clarity of purpose and motion with the camera movement. just a really technically brilliant film.

how similar the russian and american control rooms and instrumentation were made me chortle. ties nicely into a little diatribe mcgoohan goes on much later in the film, "The Russians put our camera made by our German scientists and your film made by your German scientists into their satellite made by their German scientists." funny and darkly true! every allied nation had some sort of Operation Paperclip going on! mcgoohan is the focus of every scene he's in, as a spy who is really hanging on by the last remaining shreds of his fingernails.

i had a good time with it, but one of many cold war suspense films im glad exist in the world but don't necessarily need to see again. it might join Escape from New York as a film i put on when im very sick though.

-

playing

this pc needs some sort of replacement something, bc it has a really persistent overheating problem. it only tolerates powerwasher simulator on the lowest possible settings and genshin impact on basically mobile settings. it does not even want to run new vegas. i popped my head out of goodsprings to look out over the desert at the Strip and it said no thank you! too many polygons! naptime!

speaking of genshin, major update this week and new character i will be pulling for. she has a sister who died in the last patch, which i do Not care for as someone with a beloved little sister, but her moveset and skills are unique so far in the game. i feel like her skills are little too complicated for me to fully take advantage of with my "hit enemy very hard until he is dead" playstyle but she has a limited flight ability that will genuinely be very useful for exploration.

if i do not get her when i hit pity on the banner i won't bother pulling another nine times or whatever, bc the next patch has a character i really desperately want and i am saving for her

-

making

the local crew is all getting art this year, bc i already have bristol board and a selection of small frames and zero budget. people who have pets are So easy to get gifts for bc u can simply get them stuff for their pet or that looks like their pet. way less gray cat than black cat merch in the world tho

aiming to send out international holiday cards by the end of the week, and canadian cards by american thanksgiving. the rest of you they'll get there when they get there ok

[geezmarty]

...devlog #1??? - mini BG3 VN

So I recently downloaded Renpy because I wanna learn how to code in my spare time and I figured I'd write about it here for both posterity & to record my process with it all!

The project I'm starting with will be quick and easy because 1) I really don't want to start with something huge 2) I have work & commissions to take care of and those will come first.

About the project:

If you've been following me you know I've gotten hugely into bg3 so I thought why not code a little scene where you get to meet my durge, Brigha! I'll put my goals and expectations under the cut. Here's my first renpy test ft. Wyll.

First of all, what the hell is Renpy? Very simply put, Renpy is a software that allows you to create visual novels. You can check it out (and even download it for free!) here.

The "mini VN" I'm working on will feature a scene in Act1 of how I imagine you'd meet and recruit (or not!) my durge if she were a companion in the game, featuring some neat little things and details that I will hopefully be able to implement.

This is what I want to put in:

Ability to input your character's name;

(royalty free) music playing in the bg;

Multiple dialogue choices with (very small) dialogue trees;

Perhaps some pop ups like perception checks or companion approval/disapproval;

Companion pop up comments, randomized in one instance towards the end;

Two endings.

It might seem like a lot and it probably is - I might cut a couple these to make sure I don't spend too much time getting the vn out there.

So far I have the first draft of the script ready and I'll probably leave it as is unless testers will point out inaccuracies or weird phrasing. Here is a little concept of how I imagine Brigha will be dressed when you meet her:

Sprite wise she'll probably be the only one to have a full body/expressions (to preserve my wrists) but I might also draw little simple headshots of the other companions for when they'll pop up to comment.

As for backgrounds I will spare myself and just grab screencaps from the game that I will blurry/apply effects to, just to make them look a bit more coeshive with the sprites.

This is all I have so far! The VN will be available to play for free on your browser once I'm done with it :) ETA undetermined since this is a free time project done for fun.

Wish me luck!

[budgetslow]

PART 1: Recruitment (END)

-----------------

Who would have thought that Enkai freelancing would grant them... additional skills other than being a software engineer?

Being an information broker. Then working briefly under █████████ [This text has been omitted from this document.] that required a tactician.

It wasn't bad, working under them. The workload was manageable. Nobody asked questions, which was very good. They didn't think they could come up with an excuse about their nonfunctional eye, anyway.

It was during their time being a tactician that they realized that something was changing within them. Their mouth constantly felt dry, they stared at their colleagues more, and they had to eat more to compensate for their increased hunger.

Hunger. Wait... what? Hunger?

They called in sick the next day.

-----------------

In front of their bathroom mirror, they covered their mouth with their hand. What was happening? Just a few months ago, they felt fine. Normal. Nothing was wrong with them.

They looked at the person staring back at them through the mirror.

What in the world were those floating around them?

They looked up. Horns. And wisps.

Their hands trembled as they stared. Petrified, they slowly took a step back.

Then another, then another. Until they hit the wall behind them. They slid down, landing on the floor.

Hundreds of questions ran through their mind. How were they supposed to answer them all? Even with their apparent 'intelligence', there were questions that they didn't have the answers to, such as...

What were they, anymore?

Confusion turned into self-doubt. That self-doubt turned into anger. And anger... led to them stomping out the bathroom. They slammed the door behind them.

They didn't even notice they twisted the doorknob so hard that they broke it.

-----------------

And... another letter sent, only days later. They sighed as they slumped in their chair.

What was with life ruining them? Just as they were about to do well, somehow, something always went wrong. Was it them at this point? They weren't sure.

Why? For once, they couldn't comfort themselves with an excuse. Now, they were back to square one.

What a pain.

What were they supposed to do now?

Well, they could always go back to freelancing. That was their first backup plan, anyway. Alone it was, again-

Ping. Notification on their laptop. Their head immediately turned to the screen, and what they saw was... very interesting.

A strange symbol. But different from the one they had gotten before when they were first freelancing.

'We see potential in you. Do you wish to join us? Respond accordingly.'

Somehow, they knew this wasn't spam. It was too ominous, too.. organized to be any of the messages they got every day. The layout was perfect.

At this point, what was there left to lose?

They began typing up a reply right away.

Little did they know that they would be roped into the organization that was the VALORANT Protocol.

And with that, within a few weeks, they would be known as 'Stratus', a Controller for the team.

-----------------

The following weeks and months after, fellow agents around them would talk to them, and they, being as respectful as ever, responded with a gentle smile. Even to those who seemed untrustworthy, or scary. They'd always approach them, and they'd eventually let their guard down, sometimes telling them their greatest nightmares.

And in turn, they'd give them closure. Guidance, if they needed it. Nothing more than what they asked.

Like a cloudy day, pleasant for those who wished to stay.

And yet, none could feel the tension towards the 3rd agent of the Protocol. However slight it was, it was still there.

Just like the scar below their nonfunctional eye. A prime showing of what they have gone through.

Despite knowing this, they hesitated.

They saw themselves within him. Whatever he's turned into, they knew that despite his appearance, he was still human. Still capable to feel, still capable to empathize.

That made them relax whatever lingering anger they had towards him. For now.

They wondered if the agents knew what they knew. But they'd rather not speak about it.

Some things were better left unsaid.

[The document officially ends here.]

[prettyboykatsuki-moved]

TELL US THE LORE????

dkjfhsdgj ITS KIND DERANGED LMAOO. sorry for yapping about her backstory but its relevant to their insane dynamic lmao

my self insert / oc is basically like. disillusioned software engineer. shes based off edward snowden. she's from the planet of talia (which is desert wasteland) and she's an orphan and was raised with other bandit gangs lol. she learned how to write software and engineer thru trial and error. she's an orphan and doesn't really have any family with the exceptions of like two people she considers. but no blood. no idea who her parents are lol

she gets picked up by the ipc when she's in her teen years because she gets caught trying to steal from them using some phishing software she made. they offer recruitment instead of jail-time bc her skillsets are valuable and she sees it as a good opportunity.

she quickly finds out the ipc is crazy corrupt and she gets really like. she wants to get out but the contract is insane. so she basically. like. steals a bunch of money from the ipc and then goes permanently on the run LMAO.

she finds refuge in different planets but the ipc is everywhere. she keeps stealing from them though and interrupting their business models. very robinhood i guess. she has more of a moral conscience than other inserts i make she's really upright.

her personality is really like super antisocial and paranoid. complete loser forreal. after all that jumping around, she ends up hiding in penacony bc its huge and even with ipc presence, it's really easy for the blend in

this is where her relationship with sunday starts. he's really into her because he doesn't like the IPC for one, but also because he finds her to be benevolent (and she is to her credit she's really morally upright). he offers her like . complete refuge and protection in exchange for being part of the family.

she. adamantly refuses this proposition (he will keep asking though) but offers to work for the family as a contractor in exchange for protection. sunday agrees, she's an important and valuable asset with tons of insider information but also he feels weirdly comfortable around her.

they have such a weird relationship LMAOOOAOAOA. sunday develops this very possessive feeling about her and is really coercive and manipulative to her in general. he comes and goes as he pleases but she's not allowed to stray too far. quick to tug her leash basically. he has a really complete control over her and he's paranoid about her trying to leave him. always pulling her into corners and being kind of humiliating and controlling about how she dresses and acts etc

THE INSANE THING IS THAT SHE'S KIND OF. FINE WITH IT. she's really aware that sunday is crazy and manipulative and batshit. but she has HELLA abandonment issues because she has no "home." sunday constantly breathing down her back to stay with him and be his possesion gives her a comfortable sense of belonging and she doesn't think of him as evil - so she's weirdly content with him and just wants to be with him

SOMETIMES. WHEN SUNDAY IS IN A GOOD MOOD. he'll ask her what he wants and he's always expecting her to like beg for her own freedom but she never does. always asks for like intimacy like bathing together and cuddling. and it always shocks sunday LMAOAOA because he's convinced she secretly depsises him but its like dude. Lol.

they're genuinely so in love. this is deranged im aware but they really genuinely love each other and feel understood by one another. but its insane by all accounts

[monetizeme]

Proton, the secure-minded email and productivity suite, is becoming a nonprofit foundation, but it doesn't want you to think about it in the way you think about other notable privacy and web foundations.

"We believe that if we want to bring about large-scale change, Proton can’t be billionaire-subsidized (like Signal), Google-subsidized (like Mozilla), government-subsidized (like Tor), donation-subsidized (like Wikipedia), or even speculation-subsidized (like the plethora of crypto “foundations”)," Proton CEO Andy Yen wrote in a blog post announcing the transition. "Instead, Proton must have a profitable and healthy business at its core."

The announcement comes exactly 10 years to the day after a crowdfunding campaign saw 10,000 people give more than $500,000 to launch Proton Mail. To make it happen, Yen, along with co-founder Jason Stockman and first employee Dingchao Lu, endowed the Proton Foundation with some of their shares. The Proton Foundation is now the primary shareholder of the business Proton, which Yen states will "make irrevocable our wish that Proton remains in perpetuity an organization that places people ahead of profits." Among other members of the Foundation's board is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of HTML, HTTP, and almost everything else about the web.

Of particular importance is where Proton and the Proton Foundation are located: Switzerland. As Yen noted, Swiss foundations do not have shareholders and are instead obligated to act "in accordance with the purpose for which they were established." While the for-profit entity Proton AG can still do things like offer stock options to recruits and even raise its own capital on private markets, the Foundation serves as a backstop against moving too far from Proton's founding mission, Yen wrote.

There’s a lot more Proton to protect these days

Proton has gone from a single email offering to a wide range of services, many of which specifically target the often invasive offerings of other companies (read, mostly: Google). You can now take your cloud files, passwords, and calendars over to Proton and use its VPN services, most of which offer end-to-end encryption and open source core software hosted in Switzerland, with its notably strong privacy laws.

None of that guarantees that a Swiss court can't compel some forms of compliance from Proton, as happened in 2021. But compared to most service providers, Proton offers a far clearer and easier-to-grasp privacy model: It can't see your stuff, and it only makes money from subscriptions.

[teddypoi-qd]

TMAGP ARG, Days 1 & 2

Here's a quick writeup of what the Discord's discovered so far!

Day 1 - Quick Beginnings!

Through an ad on the MAG podcast feed, we got an email that sent to OIAR's HR! Sending an email here gave us an autoreply with a link the OIAR website.

On the website we found a youtube channel and a bunch of alchemy symbols and suspicious typos scattered around the place, some more emails, and an identification form.

Investigating the form and the youtube channel, led us to a usenet newsgroup for DDR (East German) diaspora.

Much of our effort on the first day focused on translating and archiving this usenet group in a gDoc for easy reference.

Day 2 - Revelations & Whoopsies

Bit of a slower day today! We managed to translate and archive the entire newsgroup over the night. Some of the team has been working on making a database of the messages on Google Sheets, whilst others have settled on exploring other leads. In the newsgroup, specifically in the very important Cats thread, we found an image with another alchemy symbol! More on that one later.

Back on the site, I personally thought to look again at the images, and noticed their names all had a string of numbers in them. Twelve numbers, to be precise -- enough for a phone number if the country code was two numbers. A little solving later, we had a phone number! After a false start, we gave it a ring and, lo and behold, we were through to the OIAR! A robovoice informed us of system maintenance and asked us to call back on September 22nd!

Later on that day, a crack team of nerds ran the image from the Cats thread through some Steganography software and found the date time combo of: Saturday, 30th September 11:00 to 19:00.

A suspicion that a few members were holding was brought to light at this time, and they got to investigating! The castle at the end of the OIAR's recruitment video has a walking tour on Sept 30th! Though this might not be relevant, a more local member has decided to pop by and see if anything comes to light! (Note: please don't flood this poor walking tour with random MAG fans -- we're not certain it's relevant)

TL;DR:

called a number, got told to call back on Sept.22

found a date in a photo, Sept.30 (11:00-19:00)

booked a walking tour for the above time!

A * Digression…

During the excitement of solving the phone number puzzle… We got a little too nosey for our own good. During the call, we found that pressing * would let you into a series of settings. Neat, thought we, Some more data to sort through! So our intrepid group of explorers started sorting through the voicemails this revealed to us, and called the number of one of them, still believing it to be a trail of ARG clues.

"Hello?" Said Martyn RustyQuill.

Yes, dear readers, this was not an ARG clue. Through our dogged determination, we ploughed our dumb, smart asses into the backrooms of the ARG. The voicemails we discovered were, in fact, test calls that RQ did to ensure the number was up and running. The number that was called was Martyn RQ's real ass phone number. RQ panicked. The mods panicked. Slowmode went up.

Luckily, thanks to quick work from everyone involved, we cleared up any chance of other people calling Martyn's number, and we're now out of the backrooms and back on track!

Don't press * !

[izicodes]

Tuesday 12th December 2023

End of September: I quit my first proper tech job after 2 years.

End of October: I applied for university on a whim and got a place.

Start of December: Randomly got a new tech job without searching.

God blessing me left, right, and center?! That's just a summary of what's been happening the past few months. I will go into more detail below~!

Here are some tips for talking to people on LinkedIn: post 💕

If you're wondering how I got here in terms of my coding journey: video | post 💕

End of September

I quit my job because it was getting tiring and I couldn't see any chance of me developing there. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to do my apprenticeship with them and then go on to become their Jr Web Developer - but from there, everything felt static. When the projects being given were getting absolutely boring, I knew then I needed some kind of change. So, I just quit. I said on a Monday I was quitting and that same Friday, I left. Politely and respectfully, of course.

End of October

I was so random how I did this but my Dad suggested for me to apply to university. I told him I didn't even have the right qualifications they wanted. He said "Bet". We looked at the local universities and none mentioned any apprenticeship certifications but mentioned work experience in the field. I applied with that knowledge. Wrote the cringiest personal statement about why the universities should accept me - and it worked. I got into the university of my city which seemed super prestigious to me, 18-year-old me would be screaming that I got a place at the university that I deemed for super smart people.

I made a post about it: link 💕

Start of December

My plan now was to wait until university next September 2024. I planned to relax, level up my current skills by myself or helping via volunteering, and maybe get a few certificates (because I love my name on certificates), and, most importantly: catch up on some anime shows - which I did complete:

Ushio & Tora: 2nd Season

Hunter x Hunter

Vinland Saga

JOJO Part 5 (again)

Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd Season (still watching)

Basically, I was supposed to relax until around February time, then start looking for a new job - tech or non-tech.

!! At this point, I was not looking for a new job !!

Last Tuesday I got a message from a recruiter on LinkedIn saying my profile was cool and would love to help me get an interview for a Frontend Software Engineer position in the city. I had a hunch to tell him I was okay and wasn't looking for a new job right now, but I was getting bored recently and this to me was an exciting new thing to do, so I said yeah why not!

The meeting was on the following Thursday and I met the IT manager. He liked me (same back to him) and wanted me to meet the team next Monday (yesterday). Afterward, I was feeling "Oh wait this is getting serious, I'm only here on a whim, like I'm actually doing good?" so I thought "Okay let's make an effort on the next 'interview'!!".

Monday came and I met the funniest set of people ever in a tech team. Then I thought "Lowkey highkey... would be so cool to work here~!" and the feedback I got was really positive. I got the job. Today I talked to their HR to finalise things.

All of this is thanks to the Almighty God, Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit of course~~! 🥰🙏🏾☦️

[cortosis-ct]

The Bad Batch and their jobs (Modern AU)

In my headcanon they all started out as soldiers. After getting out and accidentally acquisiting Omega, they desperately need money and take any jobs they can get. Eventually, everyone finds something they actually like.

Hunter:

Retail sales associate aka Walmart slave and getting yelled at by Karens all day. He's also doing freelance cleaning jobs, the grosser the better the payment. Think hoarder apartments with fifty cats or scat orgy hotel room cleanup.

He works hard on getting his record cleaned up and eventually secures a job at the fire station. He becomes a firefighter and will eventually be a lieutenant and later captain.

Tech:

Fast food worker which means lots of being yelled at by hangry people who are unhappy with the way their BigMac was stacked. He takes any extra shift he can get.

After several failed rounds of applications, he hacks into a big company's system and puts his name on top of the candidate list. He ends up supervisor for some bank insurance IT stuff with lots of numbers.

Wrecker: Miner. It's hard work and long hours in the dark. He actually earns the most of all of them but that's because it's fucking dangerous and depressing.

The leading instructor for the demolition expert trainees blows up. Wrecker, having had professional training in the military and lots of experience at not getting blown up (again), is their best take so he becomes their new instructor for the new hires.

Crosshair: Nobody is really willing to hire him so he's an unlicensed taxi driver most nights. (He hates everything about it.) He also signed up as a freelance roadkill collector job in Hunter's name and takes the calls when he doesn't have passengers.

He meets railroaders when cleaning up railkill one night. When smoking he mentions how much he hates being a taxi driver and the railroaders recruit him for their company. He becomes a traindriver and finally doesn't have to interact with his passengers.

Echo: They call it online sales associate marketer and customer service advisor. He calls it tele-scam-marketer. Many people yelling at him but at least he can work from home.

At a parent-teacher conference of Omega's school he helps another parent with a technology problem. He's like: "I tried to get rid of that problem for hours and you did it within five minutes. You gotta be a master software engineer." and Echo's like "I get payed to get yelled at as a telemarketer". Turns out the guy is an HR associate at an IT company and gets Echo a proper job.

[bean-bean2000]

The Hacker - Part 15 - Ending

Pairings: Bucky x Reader

Status: Completed

Warnings: fluff!, adorable bucky, happy ending

Please let me know if i missed any warnings and I will add them.

Series masterlist

———————————————————————————-----------------

After the fake mission, you and Bucky have been inseparable and the dynamic in the team has been phenomenal. Once you returned, Tony was furious that he was left out of this entire master plan, but he was happy you and Bucky finally woke up and realized what was in front of him. However, he took this as his opportunity to annoy the living hell out of Bucky any time he would show his soft side in front of the others. This usually ended with Bucky throwing something at Tony while he runs away giggling like a teenager.

One day Steve announces that a new recruit of SHIELD members will be training at the compound. Each avenger was assigned one to train. As Steve is pairing everyone he suddenly calls your name and you turn around quizzically

"Me? What am I going to train them to do? I'm cyber nerd I don't fight."

Steve chuckles "He isn't a fighter either. You're training a new recruit for a new cyber team that Fury is creating to reinforce the cybersecurity of SHIELD. So, your job is to improve his skills and teach his your techniques."

"Oh... I um, sure? Why does SHIELD need a team? I can do it myself for the compound and SHIELD...."

"It's a lot of work, and SHIELD is very vast and complicated, no matter how talented you are, you won't be able to handle it yourself. Plus, we want you here because we trust you the most to protect this compound and the most confidential information that we hold regarding HYDRA."

"Fine... but if he annoys me, I will hack into everything he owns and use it as blackmail forever. I like my peace and he will not disturb it." you tell Steve firmly.

He scoffs and quirks a smile while Bucky chuckles and says under his breath "that's my girl", which makes you blush and walk back to your office.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day the new recruits arrive. Steve introduces you to each other.

"Hi I'm Jake. Nice to meet you! I've so much about you, I'm very excited and grateful for this opportunity to work with you and learn from you!" he says very cheerily, smiling ear to ear and shaking your hand enthousiastically.

You smile awkwardly "yeah... haha.... um let me show you to the general IT office and you can show me what you know." you say while yanking your hand out of his grasp.

Bucky watches you from the corner, his new recruit is yapping away and he couldn't care less because Jake hasn't let go of your hand yet.

What's up with this guy? I don't like him.

Bucky is scowling and staring right at Jake. You turn around, feeling Bucky's gaze on you when you see him staring Jake down menacingly.

He locks eyes with you and you give him a look as to say "back off! hes just a new recruit that's an IT nerd... chill!"

Bucky scoffs and turns away, walking with his recruit to the training gym.

Sam nudges him as they walk side by side "what's with that Jake guy? You were staring him down badly..." Sam whispers to him.

Bucky says nothing but grunts in response.

Sam's eyes light up "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU JEALOUS?!" he whisper yells as Bucky elbows him in the ribs.

"No! I just don't like how he looks at her. He wouldn't let go of her hand before, she had to yank it out."

Sam shrugs "I don't know man, he's probably just some awkward computer nerd. You're literally a super soldier, don't sweat it." he says while chuckling.

Bucky grunts again as they enter the gym and go their separate ways.

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You're in the IT room, evaluating what Jake knows and how experienced his skill set is with computers. Sitting side by side, you're shwoing him a software you created to simulate a hack.

"Alright so, hack into this software without tripping off any triggers and do it under 5 minutes."

Jake smirks at you "Oh I can do better than that sweetheart. I'm a very talented man."

You brows furrow in confusion and you cringe at his creepy tone.

What the fuck did he just call me? Why is he acting like a dirtbag all of a sudden...?

You decide to ignore it and focus on evaluating his skills. He starts the simulation and 2 minutes in you feel his knee touch yours. You change position in your seat and move away when suddenly you feel his foot laying on yours.

You fidget in your seat, getting uncomfortable.

"So um, where are you at?" you ask to get your mind off of the creepy feeling you're getting.

He chuckles "Am I making you nervous, honey?"

You stare at him in disgust "what? dude, just do the simulation. This is strictly professional, and I highly suggest you back off right now."

You're getting increasingly more frustrated and creeped out while he laughs at your statement.

He turns towards you and leans in closer. You try leaning away but feel your back hit the wall behind you. He corned you.

He starts closing the gap between you two, caaging you in between his arms.

"Am I making you nervous now too? I love seeing your eyes go wide, lips parting, heart racing... and I;m not even touching you... yet.." he says as he leans in to kiss you.

You scream and push him back as hard as you can, dodging his kiss. He grunts in annoyance and pins your arms against you.

"You wanna do this the hard way? Fine. We will." he threatens you as you see his eyes darken.

You're pushing against him but he's stronger than you are.

"Stop. I said no. Back off right now." you yell at him.

He laughs at you again "Or what? Hmmm?" he mocks you.

Suddenly, you remember what Bucky had trained you to do if you were ever caught in a similar situation by an enemy.

You smirk and your stare him directly in the eyes, no longer scared but empowered.

"Or this asshole!" you yell as you quickly lift your knees to your chest and kick him backwards with all your strength.

Jake flies backwards in his office chair and you sprint out of the room. You hear Jake cursing at you, chasing you down the hall.

You make a sprint for the gym when you spot Bucky and yell his name in panic.

He immediately turns around and run towards you.

"What? What's wrong?" he asks you worried.

Before you can answer, Jake appears in the hall. Bucky immediately makes the connection and his jaw clicks. He grinds his teeth in anger and ball his hands into fists.

"Hey man, listen, she came onto me, I swear. She's just a stupid whor-"

Jake is cut short when Bucky punches him in the face. He goes flying backwards onto the floor. He holds his jaw in pain. Before he can even try to defend himself, Steve picks him up and throws him to the security guards.

"Deal with him. Black list him. I want him gone." Steve orders them firmly.

They nod as they drag him away. Jake is screaming in protest but is silenced by the elevator doors closing.

"Are you okay?" Bucky asks you, looking you over for any injuries.

Yeah, I'm fine. He tried to kiss me and he pinned me against the wall but I remembered what you taught me and I kicked him back and ran away." you explain to him.

His eyes gleam with pride "That's my girl! I'm so proud of you! But i'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you... I knew something was wrong with him I should've trust my gut -" Bucky starts rambling.

You cut him off with a kiss "Shhh, slow down. it's okay. You taught me well. I can take care of myself but I will always need you by my side." you tell him as he pulls you into a bear hug.

The rest of the day, Bucky keeps you close to him. You lean your head on his shoulder in reassurance and thanks.

"No more recruits." Bucky says to Steve as he walks past him.

"Oh come on Buck! You know I had no clue!" Steve starts defending himself.

The two super soldiers start arguing as you laugh and walk towards Natasha.

You both shake your heads and say in unison"Men." as you roll your eyes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days later and Tony's birthday is coming up. He set up an entire party, with hundreds of people, 3 bands, a DJ, multiple types of entertainment such as dancers and gymnasts.

You've never attended a birthday party, let alone even celebrated your own. You had no idea what to wear or how to dress for an event this grand. The party is tonight and you're going through your closet, pulling everything out and realizing you have no clothes fit for this event. All you have are sweatpants, leggings, oversized shirts and pyjamas. You never go out nor had a reason to go out.

You groan loudly in frustration.

You hear a knock at your door and find Natasha smiling.

"You doing okay there cyber?" she asks.

"I can't do this. I have nothing to wear for the party. I don't exactly go out. I don't think its appropriate nor will Pepper will be happy if I show up in leggings and an oversized t-shirt...."

"Follow me, you can borrow one of my outfits." She turns around and beckons you to follow.

You enter her room and she's laying out some outfits for you on her bed.

"These are all really tight... and too small i think... I don't have a body like yours Nat... I'm really flattered and thankful but I don't know if i'm comfortable wearing a tight bodycon dress...." you tell her, your voice quiet and faltering. You're embarrassed.

"Girl you are DELUSIONAL if you think you don't have a nice body. As if we all don't see the way Bucky ogles at you half the time" she teases.

"Stop filling my head with nonesense.. I honestly don't know how he could like me with a scar like this across my face...." you whisper.

"I'm not messing with you! Stop selling yourself short! You're gorgeous, you're crazy smart, you're so witty, you're so kind and caring, you need to love that body and mind of yours more! The scar on your face is nothing to hide. It shows your strength, your resilience and your loyalty. You should wear that scar with pride, not shame. If anybody understands that, it would be Bucky."

You blush at her compliments. Natasha grabs a dress from her closet, turns you toward the mirror and places it over your clothes.

"What do you think? I think you'll look so hot, it's your signature colours, with a punk spike to it."

You gasp “Where did you get this? This isn’t like any of your other outfits….”

Natasha giggles “I may or may not have guessed that you would need a dress tonight and I maybe used Tony’s card to buy you a dress… maybe…” She pushes you towards the bathroom.

You giggle excitedly and agree to try it on. As you come out of the bathroom and stare at yourself in the mirror you gasp.

It's a black A-line dress with a neckline that emphasizes your chest perfectly followed by long black lace sleeves. A corset cinches your waist and hugs your curves in all the right places, with purple accents across it. The dress ends above the knee with purple lace adorning the ends.

You feel the most beautiful you have every felt. You haven't felt this pretty in a long time.

Natasha stares at you, beaming with pride. She knows you look hot and you know it. You can't deny it.

She squeals with excitement and tells you there's a few missing accessories. She hands you black tights and a pair of gorgeous black platform heels. They're comfortable enough for you to walk in properly and pretty enough to be appropriate for the event.

The sleeves and tights cover any potential scars that would normally be visible. Your heart swells with appreciation as you know that Natasha did that on purpose. Somehow she can always sense how someone feels and what to do to make them comfortable.

Before you can change your mind or doubt yourself she drags you to her vanity and starts applying on some makeup. She guides you through what she's doing so you're comfortable and only uses the products that you agree to. She puts on some lightweight foundation, a bit of blush and concealer as your base. She does a light smokey eye with some mascara and eyeliner to accentuate the colour and shape of your eyes. You stare at the harsh scar across your face, a permanent memory of what you've survived and surpassed. Natasha purposely chose makeup that didn't hide your scar, nor accentuate it. She made it so that you know it's there and wants you to see it and be proud of it. She's right, you won't be hiding it, not today.

Natasha takes your hair down from its bun, brushes it through and curls it with her iron. She places your hair in a style that accentuates your features and the outfit.

You look back at yourself in disbelief. You turn to Natasha and thank her for her help. She then gets ready herself and you're both on your way to the party, arms linked.

You enter the party and immediately lock eyes with Bucky. Natasha notices and walks away from you with a wink.

He approaches you, eyeing you up and down shamelessly.

"Wow, you look absolutely stunning, doll. You are by far the most beautiful woman here." He smirks at you, eyes glistening with affection.

You blush and look down at the floor. Your heart is racing and you don't know what to say. You've never given yourself the opportunity to open up to someone as much as you have with Bucky.

Bucky grabs your chin lightly and tilts your face to look up at him.

"Let's go outside for some privacy." He takes your hand and leads you to the private backyard.

As you walk outside, you see a gorgeous gondola that was installed, shielding you from the natural elements.

Bucky sighs as you both sit down next to each other, your thighs brushing.

He turns to you, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Cyber...doll, I - I've wanted to talk to you about what happened with Pierce and The Reaper for a while now. I feel like I have to get this off my chest. I know that it was extremely traumatic for you, and you've opened up about it so much to me. It means the world to me that you trust me that much. I thought I lost you. I couldn't sleep for the entire week, even worse while you were recovering in the med bay. It made me realize my true feelings for you. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

He sighs and grabs your hands, staring into your eyes.

"I'm falling in love with you. I have been for a while now. I'm happier when I'm with you, I feel like I can be myself, unconditionally around you and you make me feel complete."

You gasp as your eyes also start to well with tears.

"Losing you that week really made me realize how I can't live without you. I need you. So, my final question is: "Will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?" he finishes his speech with a blush across his cheeks.

He looks up at you, waiting for any answer, verbal or not.

"Took you long enough! Yes, Bucky, I would love to." you laugh.

He chuckles as he grabs your cheek in his hand, softly brushing the tears away.

"Can I kiss you, now?"

"Do you really have to ask?" you answer sarcastically as you grab his face and kiss him.

A hand wraps around your waist and another holds your cheek as your hands tangle in his hair.

The kiss is deep and passionate with all unspoken words and emotions being poured out in physical affection.

You both pull away and smile at each other.

I finally get to have my happy ending, after all.

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And that's a wrap! Please let me know what you think! <3 I hope you all enjoyed this crazy ride!

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