#I hadn’t seen what you put up for your spotlight but when I downloaded the image

[caps-lockdown]

Sweet On You Part 3

Surprise! I had this chapter written by this morning and figured no time like the present to post! I’m pretty sure the last two parts won’t be for a minute simply because the rest of this week will be pretty busy for me, but I hope to have this series finished by my actual birthday at the end of the month! 

Again no beta so I own all of my mistakes and not any of the characters, with the exception of the reader.

Major thank you to @kaytizzle for the help with this particular part as I was torn with writing it. Enjoy!

Words: 3,416 (Strap in kids)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Female Reader

Rating: PG 13 (Language)

Summary: Part 3 of my series continues as you get a shocking detour from your scheduled birthday alone.

Warnings: Language. Otherwise fluff and some tension.

Part Three: Premature Heart Attack

“Alright it’s five o’clock people go home!”

You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and stood up from your desk in your office, watching the people quickly file out from their cubicles. You didn’t have a huge workload to accomplish today, Pepper giving most of the tasks to other employee so you could have “An easy birthday”. She had tried to make you take the day off but you wouldn’t hear it. It wasn’t like you had a significant other to spend it with or family.

You didn’t even have a pet.

After the office had emptied out you closed out of the windows on your computer and shut it down, locking your new employee orientation documents in your desk drawer. Grabbing your keys you locked your office door and happily strode to the elevators. You smiled to yourself and the elevator descended, humming joyfully as you exited to the lobby.

You had decided a nice night in with Netflix, a bubble bath, and your weight in Chinese food would be the best birthday present to yourself. Everything so far had gone right today. You said goodbye to the lobby security officer at the checkpoint and headed for the door. Nothing was going to stop you from enjoying yourself.

“Y/N!!”

You knew those two voices. You turned around from the large doors that lead to your freedom, your once happy smile dropping from your face.

Nat was running at you, a panicked expression gracing her beautiful features while Wanda wasn’t too far behind her. She looked just as worried. Shit.

“Y/N We. Need. Your. Help.” Wanda managed to get out in between breaths, Nat nodding vigorously in your direction.

“There is a dinner tonight with the new secretary of defense and Tony just took Pepper to the hospital because she’s having trouble breathing. She’s supposed to give a speech and we can’t find her notes.” Nat continued, looking at you with a hopeful smile.

“The team is helping with security tonight and we don’t know who else to ask. Please help us Y/N.” Wanda finished, looking at you and giving her best puppy dogs eyes. Shit. So much for your perfect night in.

“When was this scheduled? Why didn’t I know anything about it? When does it start?” You rambled off, suddenly feeling very self conscious. Usually working under Pepper meant you ran things behind the scenes. You had never been one for spotlight, and preferred working with the crew and ensuring things were perfect for meetings and galas alike. That was your zone and you thrived in it. You were actually hurt that Pepper had chosen not to include you in this event. You were supposed to be her assistant. As if reading your mind Nat piped up.

“Pepper wanted you to have a nice quiet birthday in. It’s only two hundred people Y/N. Nothing she couldn’t handle.” Your face paled as you swallowed hard.

“Yea and she told us to use Tony’s credit card for your dress. Think of it as a birthday present! We already bought ours and just have to change before we go.” Wanda beamed at you, holding up two large garment bags. You felt your heart melt a little at their encouraging faces. Wanda and Nat were really like family to you, and you know they would never ask you for anything you couldn’t handle.

“Alright.” You sighed, reaching into your pocket and pulling out a separate set of keys from your own. It had a letter “P” keychain and small thumb drive attached to it, which clinked together as you set it in Nat’s hand.

“This unlocks Pepper’s office. She never locks or shuts down her computer, look for the dinner speech notes and download them to this thumb drive for me. I’ll print them out at home while I get ready. Wanda you’re coming with me.” You started for the door, never taking the credit card.

“What about a dress?!” Nat called out, clearly concerned.

“I already have one.” You responded, tearing the lobby doors open and hurrying to the employee parking facility.

”Awwww yea let’s do this!” Wanda shouted as you sped walked to the car.

You had a dress in the closet you had actually bought a year ago for the company Christmas party, but you had chickened out last minute and had chosen to wear something a tad more simple. It had worked out anyway because again you were helping the crew with running everything, so you weren’t bitter about it. Tonight was the perfect night to take out the gown, even if the current idea of wearing it in public was terrifying.

You and Wanda essentially raced to take a seat in your car, it roaring to life as you swiftly turned the key and pulled out of your parking slot. You sped (only slightly) out of the massive parking garage and onto the busy streets of Manhattan, the congestion not as bad with it being nearly six pm now.

“How much time do we have Wanda?”

“You only have to make it in time for your speech, everything else is being taken care of by Mattie and Scott. You are slotted for eight but say the word and I can probably get you an extra half an hour, judging by the current circumstances.”

You nodded as you slowed to turn into your apartment parking. You killed the engine and dashed to get out, Wanda hurrying behind you. Less than an hour and a half. You could make this happen. You had to. Pepper needed you and she never asked you for anything like this. You couldn’t fail her when she had become like the sister you didn’

Jamming the key into your apartment door you took no time throwing it open, flipping the light switch to illuminate your small haven. You tore your work blazer off before chucking it onto a nearby armchair in your living room along with your keys, kicking your heels off by the door.

Running into the bathroom you quickly plugged in your curling iron and began the process of taking off your current daytime makeup. You would need the perfect glam look for tonight, so you were going to go big. It was also your birthday and you deserved a great night damn it.

“Where’s your dress Y/N?” You could hear Wanda entering your room as you brushed your teeth.

“Itmphs Inmmn thph closeph” You mumbled out as your electronic toothbrush hung out of your mouth, pointing as if she could see you.

“Closet. Got it.” You heard a lot of crashing noises as Wanda began to ransack your wardrobe, you shaking your head as you rinsed your mouth out, wiping your face on your towel before heading into your room.

Wanda stood there with the gown, her eyes wide as she looked from you to the daring garment.

“You’ve been holding this BEAUTIFUL dress hostage!? What the hell Y/N? This is stunning!”

You felt your face blush as she touched the gorgeous fabric of the green evening gown. You couldn’t help but feel a moment of pride as she gazed fondly at it before smiling wide at you.

“Steve is going to have a heart attack. Along with half of the male population there tonight. Maybe we should warn them. It’s going to become illegal in New York to look as good as you are going to at this gala, you know that right?”

You snorted, rolling your eyes before heading back into the bathroom where you peeled off the remainder of your outfit and changed into a black low back strapless bra and matching panties. Just because no one could see them didn’t mean you didn’t want to feel attractive under your dress too.

Turning your focus back into your mirror you began the lengthy journey of curling your hair for the gala, focusing on a more vintage look as you made tight pin curls onto your head, placing clips to hold them in place while they set. While they were cooling down you put on a fresh face of makeup, decided a sultry smoked out eye makeup and a more subdued nude lip would be best with your dress.

“I think you should tell Steve how you feel. Tonight.” Nat said as she opened the bathroom door, nearly giving you a heart attack as you squeaked out a half shriek. You made a poor attempt at covering yourself, only earning a cheerful giggle from Wanda. You hadn’t even heard her come into your apartment.

“Oh please Y/N, it isn’t anything I haven’t seen before.” You glared at her as you finished setting your makeup, happy with the overall outcome.

“Did you get that speech downloaded?”

“Did ya one better!” Nat exclaimed, holding up the printed sheets of paper as you let out a relieved breath, pushing past her and into your room.

Your eyes looked at Wanda expectantly as you noticed a pair of silver heels and matching necklace and earrings sitting on your bed with your gown, only earning a shrug from the brunette in response.

Both women had already changed, Wanda wearing a beautiful red halter gown that reached her ankles and was embellished with gold rhinestones over the sides. She had gone for comfortable gold sandals for footwear and you were already envying her.

Nat had gone with a simple but elegant black dress that was designed in a more Grecian style. The gathering of the fabric flowing beautifully off her shoulders and offering a mid thigh slit, and accompanying her red pumps made for a knockout combo. They both looked nothing short of stunning.

Wanda smiled as you went to put on the shoes, thanking her for picking them out.

“Hey I was bored and silver would compliment your dress so well.”

“Can’t fault you there, I actually love these shoes. You both look spectacular by the way.” You all laughed as you adjusted the straps, the dress being a bit too tight and you didn’t want to have to bother with them after you got it on your body.

“Are you going to tell Rogers? He wouldn’t be able to say no to you looking this gorgeous.” Wanda muttered as the two women helped you into the evening gown, the green fabric clinging to your body as they pulled it down. You wiggled it over your hips before letting the rest of it fall to the floor, Nat zipping you up.

“Damn Y/N, if this gown was any tighter they would have to cut you out of it at the end of tonight. I see those training sessions with the boys are paying off!” Wanda whistled in appreciation while Nat circled around you, nodding enthusiastically.

“This will be the only time in the history of the universe where I actually agree with you. Usually I’m planning my funeral after those sessions.”

They laughed as you took out your pin curls, brushing out your hair to resemble vintage waves. Securing your hair with pins and hairspray, you hung the silver necklace around your neck and fastened in your earrings. You spun around in a circle and looked at Nat and Wanda, both women clapping and cheering for you.

You checked your reflection out in the mirror and actually felt pretty damn good about tonight for a change. Everyone was going to be shocked, and you wished that the girls were right about Steve being speechless. You didn’t want him to have a heart attack, but you weren’t opposed to his heart skipping a beat, or his jaw falling to the floor.

“The limo is here to pick us up!” Wanda called out from the large window in your apartment that overlooked the city.

Spraying a light mist of perfume on yourself and applying deodorant you found your silver clutch and quickly put your wallet and phone into it, grabbing your keys off your armchair. Doing a quick once over of your apartment you turned off the lights and headed out, the girls cheering as you made your way down the otherwise quiet hall.

Exiting your apartment building you gasped at the Limo. It was Tony’s Limo. No one ever got to ride in Tony Stark’s personal limo. Except Tony. The large plush black leather seats welcomed you in as you sat down, admiring the fully stocked bar on the side. It was absolutely huge, and you were starting to understand why the billionaire didn’t want to share.

“Tony wanted to surprise you by letting you ride to the gala in style. Also to apologize because he knows it’s a ton to ask of you on your birthday.” Nat chuckled as she lightly pushed your arm.

“I’ll make it work. Pepper ok?”

“She’s stable, but turns out it was just high blood pressure due to stress. They’re going to keep her for a couple more hours and run some extra tests to be sure.”

“Well look who she married, she’s permanently stressed.” You quipped, Wanda nodding as your driver started down the street.

“Where is this gala anyway?” You inquired, looking out the window and trying to figure out where you were. The streets weren’t looking familiar to you so you figured it wouldn’t be at The Tower or anywhere in Manhattan.

“The Museum of Natural History. President thought it best to honor our past and blah blah blah.” Nat answered making a gabbing hand motion, your eyes lighting up.

The American Museum of Natural History was one of your favorite places to visit. You loved the butterfly conservatory and planetarium, and they had just opened a new wing dedicated to the Avengers last month. The whole reveal had been amazing and you were really happy you would be going back so you could really take your time going through it. The initial opening you had been rushed, so tonight you were going to comb through it exhibit by exhibit.

“Oooh look out Y/N went into Museum mode.”

You swatted Wanda as you heard your driver announced your upcoming arrival to the massive building. You could barely hide your enthusiasm as you practically leapt out of the car, Wanda and Nat trying to catch up as you climbed the stairs outside.

“Wait up Y/N! You don’t know where you’re going!” You stopped after entering the doors, waiting for the two women and tapping an impatient foot. As soon as this speech was done you were going to roam this building until your feet hurt. Then you would take off your heels and keep walking until every inch of this museum had been covered.

“Well hurry up then! I’m not getting any younger and we have less than ten minutes!” You huffed as Nat took your arm and lead you past security and down the main hall of the museum. You stared longingly at the dinosaurs as you hurried past them, promising to return later.

You neared the new unseen Oceans exhibit and saw a very nervous Tony Stark pacing the floor, figuring out that was where the event would be taking place. It was right next to the new Avenger’s exhibit so again, you were more than happy.

“Oh Y/N thank god!” Tony went to embrace you as Natasha and Wanda went to take their security positions in the exhibit, promising to catch up with you later.

“Tony is Pepper ok?” Tony nodded and you relaxed a little, your boss always being top priority to the both of you.

“Yea she’s going to be ok, but she’s going to be super pissed when she sees how perfect you look on the tv. Damn giiirl.” You laughed as Tony clapped in your direction, taking in your attire and shaking his head.

“Shove it Stark.”

“You only need to ask nicely Y/N. And maybe buy me dinner first. Shall we?” You threw your head back to laugh before taking his offered arm. Security nodded you in and you felt a slight chill as you entered the darkened exhibit, the green and dark blue lights swirling along the floor to imitate the ocean’s waters.

“Nervous?” Tony asked, noticing how tense you had become on the short trek to the main part of the exhibit, you only being able to nod in response.

“Don’t be, everyone is here for you tonight.”

“What do you mea…” You were quickly silenced as you entered the room by thunderous applause and cheering.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y/N!!!”

Letting your eyes adjust to the now well lit room, you couldn’t help but beam at the sight before you. Hundreds of coworkers and your friends gathered around your entrance, the large “Happy Birthday” banner swinging from the ceiling and everything decorated with balloons and streamers to match the exhibit.

You noticed the large thirtieth birthday cake in the middle of the room surrounded by presents and felt yourself tearing up at the overwhelming amount of love.

“Oh you guys….this is…this is so wonderful. Thank you.” You managed to choke out as a very healthy looking Pepper stepped up to you and Tony.

“Sorry about the scare Y/N, it was the only way we could think of to get you to come out tonight. You look amazing.”

“Thanks Pepper. I hate you.” She laughed as you smiled at her before wrapping her in a hug of appreciation, managing to keep your emotions at bay.

You shifted your gaze towards the group of people, making your way to them and dispersing hugs and thanks.

“Damn Y/N you look so good!” Sam said before pulling you close, whispering into your ear.

“Who are you and what have you done with the timid and modest Y/N?”

“You asshole don’t be like that! She looks incredible!” Bucky interrupted, taking his turn to give you a hug before passing you along to Bruce who shook your hand.

“I see our training has proved fruitful. You look exquisite.” Thor offered, hugging you tightly before allowing you to break free. You hadn’t managed to see Steve yet, and you felt yourself scanning the crowd looking for the first Avenger as Nat and Wanda hugged you.

“We’re sorry we fooled you. But you should have seen your face!” Nat exclaimed while Wanda took out her phone.

“No need, we can show her!”

“You post that on any social media and I will murder you.” You glared at the women who only smiled cheekily in response while they showed you the short video, your face heating up as you watched your own shocked expression upon entering the room.

“Ease up ladies, our girl only turns thirty once.” You turned around to find the source of the deep voice and felt your pulse quicken and breath hitch.

Steve was smiling widely at you, his own crisp gray suit flattering his masculine frame. He had his hands in his pockets, his blue eyes carefully making their way down your body before slowly bringing them back to your face. His gaze was smoldering and electric as his eyes locked on yours for what seemed like minutes. You were starting to wonder if you would be having the heart attack this evening as he came to step in front of you.

“Steve! You look….wow!” You sputtered out, groaning and trying to hide your face as your blush came back. Wow? Seriously? Steve only laughed as he took your hands from your face and gently tilted your chin up to look at him.

“Hey you look pretty wow yourself.” He smiled and you felt as if your knees would buckle as he winked at you before giving engulfing you in a hug.

You couldn’t help but sigh as you felt his body heat melt into yours during the embrace. This could not be happening to you. It had to be a fever dream. Maybe you were in a coma. Maybe you’ve been in one for the last two years and only thought Steve up. There was no way Steve Rogers was this perfect and real.

“Hey Rogers! No keeping the birthday girl to yourself now! Especially with her looking this fine!” Sam interrupted and grabbed your arm, you laughing as Tony brought up his hands to shout.

“Let’s start this party already!”

You couldn’t help but look back over your shoulder at Steve while Sam dragged you to the dance floor, offering him a small smile as loud pop music began to flood the room.

Was it just you or did he look…torn?

Tag list: @kaytizzle @cuffski

[glittergummicandypeach]

New Doc, ‘People You May Know,’ Reveals a War on Democracy Being Waged With Big Data | Religion Dispatches

As a journalist taking assignments in war-torn areas, London-based American expat Charles Kriel developed an interest in big data and its use in disinformation campaigns. This eventually led to his appointment as special advisor on fake news to the House of Commons’ DCMS (Digital, Culture, Media, Sport) select committee as it investigated the roles Cambridge Analytica, Facebook, and Russia played in influencing the Brexit referendum.

Disappointment with Britain’s lack of political will to pursue needed regulation of tech companies, Kriel and film director Katharina Gellein Viken, determined to bring what they’d learned about big data manipulation, microtargeting, and tech companies’ undermining of civil society to the broader public. 

The result is the new documentary People You May Know (go to trailer), starring Kriel and directed by Viken, which spotlights the role played by churches, many of which use big data for microtargeted outreach, in the information manipulation ecosystem that continues to erode democracy in the US, the UK, and elsewhere. Distributed in the United States by Sundance and available on Prime Video, this must-watch documentary couldn’t be more timely for an election cycle marred by turbulence, uncertainty about such fundamental matters as peaceful transfer of power, and a right-wing Christian power grab.

On October 13, Charles and Katharina sat down (over Zoom) with RD’s Chrissy Stroop for an interview about their creative process, their film’s reception, and the serious threat that big data manipulation represents to democracy. 

This interview, which will be presented in two parts, has been edited for length and clarity.

Part 1

CS: So, your film covers a complicated topic with a lot of moving parts that can be tricky to follow. What would be your thirty-second elevator pitch summary of what you want viewers to walk away from People You May Know with?

CK: What’s important to understand is that the Koch brothers commissioned a religious charity, Cofi, and a religious software company, Gloo, to work with Cambridge Analytica to create a platform where churches could specifically target people who are suffering from mental illness or grief in order to recruit them into the churches, and then to weaponize them for the politics of the far Right. 

CS: So tell me more about how you came to produce this specific film with this specific focus.

KGV: Well, so, Charles and I are quite recent partners, but we’ve known each other about ten years. And I knew that Charles had done work for civil society and as a journalist in war zones and that kind of thing, and he told me early on that he was interested in Cambridge Analytica, and I watched him do a couple of talks on the subject. And then he wrote a paper for NATO about the potential influence of the Brexit referendum by Cambridge Analytica.

He was then called to the DCMS select committee in the UK, who had been the first to form a committee to really look at the social media companies and what they were doing, and this was back when everyone was at the level of, well isn’t Facebook a nice thing that connects people? And then Charles came into the room and said they should be broken up under antitrust laws, and have you heard about Cambridge Analytica and five-factor personality profiling? Everybody’s jaw dropped, and they invited him to be special advisor the next day. And I said that we have to document this journey and this process.

I’d done a celebrity piece before, and I think initially I just wanted to do something serious; I wanted to look into fake news. And then Carole Cadwalladr’s story [co-written by Emma Graham-Harrison] with whistleblower Chris Wylie broke and the headlines just rolled across the world. I followed the committee for a year. They went to America, the first committee to ever do so, to interview Google, Twitter, Facebook. And as these tech companies lied, and they lied some more, it became a very interesting story. Then it turned out that there was very little will in the UK to pursue any of the regulation that the committee recommended for microtargeting and those issues.

So we kind of wondered, what’s the conclusion of this film? Where does it go? Because Charles had placed himself at the middle of this story, people kept coming to him with evidence. One of them, Brent Allpress, who you’ve seen in the film, just said, listen, I’ve got this connection between Cambridge Analytica and church. When we looked into it, we said, well, we’ve just had a baby, but we have to go on the road and look into this story. So we put our three-month-old baby in the back of a car and drove across America. That’s how it all came about.

CS: What a remarkable story! Charles, what is the origin of your interest in big data and personality profiling?

CK: So, probably about eight or nine years ago, someone asked me if I would go into a conflict zone and work with independent local journalists, and help them try to get digital. In post-Soviet oligarchic, authoritarian states, getting digital was one of the best ways that these journalists could get their message out. So, this offer came up, I was very excited about it, and that’s how I found myself in Nargorno-Karabakh.

I loved doing that work, and I did more and more of that work, in worse and worse places. I’ve worked everywhere from Mongolia and Tajikistan to Iraqi Kurdistan. In situations like that, you find yourself doing lots of work that was almost like counter-radicalization; it was definitely counter-disinformation. That’s what you’re helping the journalists with. So I became really informed on that kind of work, and every dark alley that I went down in these war zones or frozen conflict zones, I would find Twitter, Google, and Facebook.

You’ve signed yourself in [to the church’s app], you’ve signed in your children, you’ve shared your vulnerabilities…but it’s not just mental health, it’s vulnerabilities in general.

CS: Which is fascinating. Troll farms became a big topic in 2016. Were you picking up on anything like that, the organized use of trolls, before 2016?

CK: I was picking up on the methodologies already in place; they just hadn’t been scaled in the way that troll farms scaled things. The methodologies of disinformation and radicalization, and now election manipulation, are all incredibly similar. The difference is to what scale you operate. When the troll farms really kicked in, that was around the time of the annexation of Crimea [in March of 2014].

With social media, what you’re able to do, and what Cambridge Analytica has done, is they do data harvesting, and from those data harvests, they’re able to develop really detailed profiles of individuals, and then they can microtarget those individuals. They can do so to scale. So it’s not just, I need to find somebody in a community who’s vulnerable, and I’m going to target them specifically, and try to flip them and then they’ll be able to influence their friends and so on.

It’s all of that, but I’m going to do a million of them. The power of that is incredible. And then when you dig into what we focus on in the film, that Cambridge Analytica and Gloo were using church networks to identify people who were mentally ill and target them, it’s a really evil system.

CS: So let’s talk more about how churches use microtargeting and the findings you explore in People You May Know.

KGV: When I approached people about this initially in the churches, I talked about the modern outreach programs, and how churches are growing digitally in general. And it’s interesting, because churches have traditionally been slow on the uptake with social media and getting digital. Of course, outreach and evangelism is part of the church’s DNA, and that’s fine. And so you start to use social media for that, you’ve got live broadcasts on Facebook, and it gets started kind of slowly at first.

But then, what we found that really scared me is that a lot of smaller churches have adopted a complete digital interface. And this has happened so fast, because you want sign-in, you want to protect people’s kids, and you want to be able to track people and donations and all these things. And the churches themselves very often tell me, oh no, we don’t do that, we hire this software company, they’re very nice, and they do all of our stuff.

CS: So they’re buying that system from companies like Gloo, is that right?

KGV: Yeah, and there’s plenty of them. There’s Church Community Builder—there’s a lot of them that we ran into. And even if the church itself goes, well our privacy policy is of course we don’t share any data with anybody, the software company doesn’t protect the data at all, or they might be very bad at it. So if you go into the app—and they very often will have downloadable apps—you might find that your data is free to share with anybody. And of course you’ve signed yourself in, you’ve signed in your children, you’ve shared your vulnerabilities. Charles mentioned mental health, but it’s not just mental health, it’s vulnerabilities in general.

After all, as a European, it’s interesting to watch how churches in the States, they fill every need. You have preschool, you have a couple’s night, you have childcare, you have all this stuff that’s free and really hard to say ‘no’ to.

CS: Sure. I like the way you emphasized that in the film, because I think it’s a really important American reality that many Europeans probably don’t grasp. Just, the extent to which it’s difficult to get yourself plugged into a socially supportive community, which you need all the more because we hardly have a social safety net in America for those who aren’t religious.

KGV: Absolutely. Down here in Alabama, church daycare is the thing to do.

CS: And of course there’s also Vacation Bible School every summer. From where I sit now, as a kid who grew up in right-wing culture-warring churches, I do consider the evangelism aspect of these programs predatory. But I also see that there aren’t a lot of alternatives for most people.

CK: You can see that this happens in other functions of life too. Joining a church in a new town is the way to get quickly integrated into the community. It’s comparable to the role of the village pub in the UK. There’s a story that just broke in the past week. We have a track-and-trace system—it’s not working very well, but a track-and-trace system in Britain for COVID. And you go into a pub, and you have to download an app. You put your details in. 

And that’s fine, but the pub didn’t build the app, a third party built the app. And we’re now hearing people say that pubs and restaurants have been selling this data to data brokers. But I’ll bet you it’s not the pubs and restaurants selling the data. What the pub and restaurant owners are doing is scrambling for a quick solution, thinking, we’re not coders. What the hell do we do? So they find an app, and they download the app, made by a company similar to Gloo, and they’re just harvesting data.

KGV: And it’s easy, and also in terms of churches of course, social media is cheap. Traditional outreach might have been much more time-consuming and expensive, whereas now using data you can easily find people who might be open to an invitation.

Look for Part 2 tomorrow, in which Kriel and Viken will discuss issues related to the coming election, including the Council for National Policy, a secretive conservative Christian organization leveraging these powerful tools to change the country. — eds

PYMK Trailer:

This content was originally published here.

[decoding1432]

Parents & Friends

Some stans have picked sides due to the parent’s behaviour on SM. Just the way some reflect all the hate collected from other stans onto the girls, it’s the same deal when it comes to their parents. Due to the fact that certain people can’t stand them, they decide to whether unstan or throw shit at the girls for it.

If you don’t think all these subtle shade going on is done with a purpose, try to give it a second thought.

The thing with this whole “shading” is that we've got two viewpoints:

From Camila’s side we saw how her parents stopped acknowledging the group & this happened since the fighting days. Now, let's put ourselves in the Cabellos’ shoes for a moment:

Imagine one day your daughter & her bandmates are played such a dirty trick & they cut communication. (Yes, I still believe this is how all went down). Anyway back to our scenario, now thanks to this they are not on speaking terms anymore. Your daughter releases her first solo project. It's important for her. However the people pulling the group strings are setting her in a very dark position. They are painting her in a very negative light in front of her fans.

Around those days, you log into your Twitter account several times & you see one fan turns against her. But as time passes by that one “fan” multiplicates & turns into 10 more haters. Then 50, then 100 & so it goes on & on. The situation worsens. Now, your daughter starts receiving hateful tweets 24/7. Your daughter starts getting sick. Her mental health state is seriously compromised but the people behind her career are doing nothing to help the situation, in fact they are making it more toxic for her. The issue with her bandmates is still not solved. The haters seem unstoppable at this point… Your daughter is mentally exhausted to a point where she describes her anxieties having anxieties.

That continues for a year. Along the way your daughter & her bandmates rekindled their bond. But it’s not all bright again since they must not give that away on camera. Another thing to add is that her bandmates are told not to defend her on SM to make the haters cease. Tell me are you happy with the brand & the poisonous environment they created around your daughter? The answer is obvious.

Let’s take a look at 5H’s angle. The way I see it, you’re a 40-50 year old & you spend your days bashing a 20 year old through Twitter... immaturity at its finest, right?

The tricky aspect here is that the parents’ wishes contradict their actions.

E.g.  The parents want hatred to stop. Some like Mama Dre have expressed it & also it’s not even necessary to have this captured on a tweet to understand. Anyhow, they want the hate to cease but they encourage haters with their comments? Logic 2+2= potato

Now, personally the moment Mike started being shady that seemed fishy af to me. We’re talking about the same person that liked C’s departure letter (apparently he unliked it a little after, not really sure). Anyway, even if he didn’t, he was always all about the five girls & one of the non-problematic ones before the mess started unraveling. It makes sense that they started using him, not only to cut all ties with Camren but to influence the stans more strongly as well.

I asked lawyerlarry if this has happened with their boys, using their relatives to mold or push the narrative. This was her answer:

Since we don’t know what type of contract the girls are under we can’t know for sure if the parents are completely obligated. However one thing is for sure, clearly as a parent you’re going to want the best for your kid.

I’m bringing back some points I’ve written about this same subject in a past masterpost…

TV anon: “The thing about the parents is that THEY ARE PARENTS so they are gonna be protective and going to support their child 100%. Now, the moment the girls became legal, the parents are off negotiations or meetings so the only thing they know is what their daughters told them (and we don’t know how restrictive the contract is or even if the girls go and spill full deets to their parents) and you are right, their behavior is very contradictory, even from parents of the same child. Example, Lauren’s parents. Her dad it’s super supportive of the 5 of them and her mom is really over the top, to be honest lol. I have seen them throwing shade and then talking about supporting the 5 of them so maybe the shade is for the label. Or at some point it was for Camila but then they got informed and realized the situation, who knows. Let’s not forget, they don’t belong to the industry so they don’t know how to handle situations like these. Such as their children, they are too emotional. The parents and friends subject is tricky, cause who knows how much they know/or don’t know.”

Every single time I get worried I might be overthinking I return to the question told above: If they know they are only worsening their situation & attracting more toxicity toward their daughters why would they continue with this childish behaviour? Also the girls are not stupid, cause even if these were truly their parents’ actions don’t doubt they wouldn’t stop them.

Once more, this applies to their parents. When it comes to other relatives like Leilani, we're completely unaware of how close she's or not with Dinah, let alone the rest of the girls. She could be throwing shade in order to help them or simply she’s an attention seeker. For all we know a) she could have been told an alternate story along the way b) she is acquainted with only a very small part of the truth c) nothing at all & she knows just as much as we do.

When it comes to friends, let alone not their closest friends, we can coincide that they surely don’t know the story from head to toe but since they’re familiar with the girls at a certain extent they claim to for the sake of rts & attention. Dealing with the parents topic is ambiguous. “I think the parents ought to know everything, don’t fool yourself, why would the girls keep things from them?” Believe it or not, there’s always possibility. Here I consider a list of reasons why it COULD be true:

TV anon couldn’t have said it better…

When the girls became legal, procedures & regulations on the entertainment business gave a 180 degrees turn.

Non-disclosure agreements are a common thing in the industry.

Thus far none of the girls has shaded each other. Although, other people have accomplished a fraction of this “dirty work” for them. Such as friends, crew team members, & their parents. What I’ve caught on this culmination of “bitterness” is that it’s quite contradictory. To elaborate: Lucy shaded Camila around two or three weeks later by liking one IG post that was referring to C as “Canola”. What I found funny is how less than a month before, Lucy literally appeared on Dinah’s livestream hanging with her & Camila at their bus.

When I wrote that, the BB 5H issue hadn’t come out yet. Also these past few days, Lucy has publicly shown her support for Camila on SM. Also let’s add, she isn’t the only connection from Lauren that’s been doing this lately...

Now, some of LAND’s friends have publicly supported C. To me, it hints at the bigger picture that the ladies are in good terms. Some of you might disagree, maybe you consider they’re not friends any longer. Fine that’s your POV, but I don’t share that perspective. Not because I refuse to let go OT5 or anything remotely similar, but like I’ve said numerous times before, the fact that the girls knew about C leaving since 2015 & all the moments we had along 2016 I consider it a sign that they were able to somewhat fix whatever issues they had a year before.

Even if you agree or not with me on their current friendship status, you can’t deny the following: LAND doesn’t speak badly about Camila bts unlike what media wants to make us believe.

(Fun fact: Josh liked the following two days after the split announcement)

Enough with Josh (he stans Camila hard lol) Let’s check the rest of their friends...

I would insert here the videos of Simone & Sydney jamming to CITC, unfortunately I couldn’t download them but that doesn’t me we must not take them into account as well.

Next one might not be recent but reminder that Normani wrote as part of those thoughts: “I have love and respect for all four of my bandmates whether you choose to believe it or not” “I have to address foolishness manufactured by those that have absolutely no idea what goes on” “For those who enjoy speculating and creating drama that doesn’t exist, please keep in mind that myself and the other girls in the group are PEOPLE” etc...

Out of all their friends or people they’ve worked with, in my opinion, when Angie (their temporary guitarist after Ashlee left) commented on C’s IG post is the one proof that I would take over any of the above to pinpoint that THIS...

...doesn’t reflect any of THIS...

In conclusion, I believe that the relatives & some friends are attempting to help the girls as much as they can. I repeat, it’s uncertain how much the girls are allowed to tell them. But some things are undeniably true... They (parents & friends) know how fucked up this business is, they have seen how much the 5 ladies have struggled in these past years. If there’s something they can’t do, is stop this madness. They can’t break the system, they can’t protect them from this industry. But they can try to fulfill part of the “dirty work”, otherwise I’m sure it would have to come directly from the girls. Don’t judge them, they are willing to do anything if it means taking some of the burden off of the girls’ shoulders. How do I know this latter? Cause I might only be a fan but I would do it too.

Question: if you had a friend or a relative in they industry, would you doubt putting yourself in the spotlight for a second in order to give them a hand?

P.S. Alejandro liked Clara’s “shady” tweet that was supposedly aimed at Camila.

[worldofadvent]

NEO World of Advent Chapter Fifteen

"It's today right?" Clover's anxious form hovered a few inches off the ground next to Cero. "It's supposed to be released today."

"Don't worry," Cero said. "I'm sure it's up by now." Cero typed in the browser to go to the developers of Spellblade's main page, but found the page go dark for a split second, appearing on the web page where the sequel to Spellblade was advertised.

"Oh good," Clover said. "That's a relief."

"It would have taken about ten seconds longer for me to type in the address," Cero said. "You don't have to use your abilities for everything."

"You were typing too slow." Clover stared at the image rendered on the screen with reverence. "And no harm done, right? It's up on the main site. Do you have your parents' card info?"

"Yeah," Cero said. "Just don't use it for anything else, alright? This is coming out of my allowance."

"The reviews were pretty good," Clover said, "But you can't always trust the big gaming sites. Have fans posted any?"

"I'm trying to avoid spoilers," Cero said. "I'd rather not look at what they have to say. I already know a major character dies at the end."

"Noooo," Clover moaned. "I hope it's no one I like. I can't stand the wait, I have to know." She tapped her foot impatiently as Cero's purchase was verified and a small window popped up notifying them of an impending download. "You don't mind if I speed it up a bit, do you?"

Cero sighed; ever since Clover's abilities had fully developed, she had been incorrigible. She used the slightest excuse to make use of her powers. She looked older too; she stood at only a few inches shorter than he at what Cero supposed a twelve year old girl would look like. "I suppose, but be careful. I don't want my computer to get damaged."

"Please," Clover said. "You're talking to a professional here."

"Hardly," Cero responded. "You've only been hacking into things for a couple months. If anything, I am."

"Done!" Clover stared at the 'Download Complete' icon with satisfaction. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Cero rolled his eyes. "A little patience wouldn't kill you. But we can play now if you want; I'm pretty excited too."

"Sweet." Clover picked up a controller and sat in her chair. They had dragged a chair upstairs from the dining room. It had been 'an exercise in stealth' as Cero's father would have put it. Two flights of steps, a busy elevator, and an oblivious Cerveau later, the once dining-room chair was now Clover's designated gaming chair. She sat in it beside Cero as they browsed their collection of video games. "I hear their customization is pretty advanced."

"That was certainly hyped a lot," Cero agreed. They landed on a screen where the Hero and the Forest Spirit's features could be warped or go through drastic changes in color, ranging from natural light or dark skin tones to insane colorations like deep purple or sunset orange. Clover changed the Hero's cloak to a brilliant pink when Cero turned away to dig through one of his drawers for snacks. "Hey," Cero protested. "He looks better in red."

"And he still is," Clover defended her artistic interpretation of the Hero's neon pink cape. "Just a really light red is all."

She looked up behind them. "Oh hi, Zero. We were just playing that new game."

Cero made a small jump of surprise at the realization that his father had managed to open their closed door and stand beside him without his realizing it. "Stop doing that," he said irritably. "Can you please knock next time?"

"I see you've found the missing dining room chair." Zero loomed over them, unrepentant for his breach of privacy. "Your game can wait. I believe Clover is ready to expand on her abilities."

"You think so?" Clover seemed interested in the idea, despite it taking them away from precious game time. "We've already done a good bit with Nurse and Hacker abilities. Are we working on Animal ones now?"

"Yes," Zero said. "Meet me downstairs at the weapons testing room. Doigt said he would help."

"Cool," Clover said. "We'll be down soon."

Zero left the two of them to prepare; Cero shut his screen down reluctantly, but knew that it was important to both his father and his elf. "You're pretty excited about this," he said. "What do you think he'll teach you?"

"I dunno." Clover popped an E-Crystal Cero from their snack pile into her mouth, munching on it thoughtfully. "I hope it's something with explosions."

"You're enough of a fire hazard as it is," Cero laughed. "I don't know if the Resistance could handle you firing off explosions when you felt like it."

"That was one time," Clover said. "And nobody told me that you couldn't microwave a plate of E-Crystals. How was I supposed to know they would blow up?"

"Either way," Cero said, "Mom still won't be happy if you start using the furniture for target practice."

"Come on Cero," she said. "You know me better than that." Cero gave her a look. "I'd only destroy the really ugly ones," she relented. "It'd be like a community service really, if you think about it. Nobody ever even uses the couches; they're too tough."

"Dad's waiting," Cero reminded her. "I'm sure he'll give you the rundown on the proper way to safely nuke a leather couch."

The two of them bickered affectionately as they took the elevator down. Cero had forgotten what life was like without the vivacious Elf. She certainly kept things interesting, that was for sure. Upon reaching the blast walls separating the weapons testing room from the rest of the Resistance deep underground, Doigt waved them over beside Zero. The room was enormous and grey, separated by two remote controlled doors thicker than Cero and Clover put together. A few target dummies were placed haphazardly on the sides, almost as an afterthought.

"Your father told me your elf needed a safe place to practice," Doigt told Cero. "These walls can withstand a blast from a Neo Arcadian missile; I'm sure it can handle whatever she can dish out."

"Cool!" Clover looked around them in interest. "Have you ever used them before," she wondered aloud. "If not, how do you if know they can withstand a missile?"

"Thankfully we haven't had to use them in a real world scenario," Doigt told them, "But trust me. Even if nothing else is left standing, these beauties will be."

"Which brings us to the nature of your training," Zero said. "Clover, you have done well with the nonphysical aspects of your abilities, but I thought it would be best to let you learn restraint with those traits before moving on to combat oriented skills."

"So I do get to blow things up!" Clover clasped her hands together excitedly. "When do I start?"

"Show Doigt what you feel comes naturally," Zero told her. "I'm going to talk with Cero for a bit."

"Okay." Clover gave Cero a quick hug before skipping to the other end of the room, where she flames starting appearing from her fingertips.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Cero asked his father. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Zero assured him. "It's about the message you sent me a few weeks ago."

"Oh." Cero had forgotten by now about his curiosity about Croire, Zero's old Elf and Clover's predecessor. "Why talk about it now?"

"I would have sooner, but some things got in the way. Neo Arcadia still asks the Resistance for my help when needed. I may not agree with everything they do or have done, but maintaining a good relationship with the city is important."

"I remember Sorra saying something like that," Cero said. "So what was she like? I know Clover's you know, Clover, but I don't remember much about Croire."

"You wouldn't," Zero said. "She passed away when you were only four years old. She was a lot like Clover in some ways, but I don't think many people have as forceful a personality as she does. Croire was a little more subdued. We became good friends after the war, actually. It was her efforts that helped to revive me after Ragnarok."

"Really?" Cero hadn't heard much about the circumstances behind his father's revival. "How come she survived and the first elf, Passy, didn't?"

"Passy was a younger elf," Zero explained. "And most elves do die once they make use of their powers, yes. Croire was a very special elf however. Your mother had found her in an abandoned factory and believed she would be of some help to me. She could use abilities from each family of elf without dying, though it often tired her if she exerted too much or too many of them in a brief span of time. I don't think you wanted to talk to me about her abilities though."

"No," Cero confessed. "I knew elves had personalities, but before I met Clover, I never knew how much like us they were. Clover's my friend; she's every bit of a person as I am, but a lot of people won't give her the chance to see that. It's frustrating, knowing that even some of the people I care about don't see her as an equal."

"People have a curious way of being cruel without ever intending to be." Zero placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I may not remember all of it, but I have been around for some time now. There was a time when reploids were treated as less than human."

The two of them stopped as Clover cheered behind a giant red cloud of her making. Soon, the area was ablaze with makeshift bombs. "She really is something," Zero said with a hint of a smile on his lips. "You're lucky to have her as a friend."

"Believe me," Cero said. "I know. What did people say, back then? About reploids, that is. Do you remember?"

"There were a lot of debates about the morality of allowing us to exist at all," Zero said. "Most of the world were slow to accept us at first. Humans have this concept called the 'soul.' They thought of themselves as unique and had been the dominant species for all of history. Sharing the spotlight with their own creations was a harsh lesson in humility." Zero leaned back, as though the memories bore a physical weight to them. "I was seen as little more than a tool for war by many. X and I helped change the ideas they held about us as we saved them from countless disasters and the mavericks, but not everyone was willing to accept us. You can't force a people to do anything, Cero. You're just going to have to accept that there will always be people who resist change, if for no other reason than to resist change."

Their conversation was halted momentarily as Clover began to trash talk her targets before incinerating them. "You know," Zero said with some amusement, "She reminds me of an old friend of mine."

"Which one?" This was an unusual opportunity to know more about his father's enigmatic past. "I don't think X was ever so happy to create wanton destruction." Clover was now blasting multiple target dummies with clouds of fire and lightning amidst maniacal laughter.

"I think I've told you a little about him before," Zero said. "His name was Axl. He could change shape at will and did so frequently to prank X and I. He was a good hunter. I wish I had let him know that more before he passed."

"What happened? I know X is gone, but you've been revived a few times now," Cero said. "Why couldn't he be brought back?"

"I don't know for sure," Zero said. "But that thing humans call the 'soul' doesn't always come back with the reconstruction of a reploid's body. If it has passed into cyberspace, no manner of repair will ever bring that reploid back."

"So Axl is really gone, then? For good?"

Zero nodded. "I think so. X was powerful enough to visit us for short periods of time, but it exhausted him. He no longer has the strength to return to our world."

"Do you think something could ever bring them back?" Cero's eyes furrowed. "I don't want to ever lose you or Aunt 'Lou, or anyone."

"Death is every much a part of life as living," Zero said. "It would take something unimaginably powerful to do so, but I'm not sure that would be a good thing. This world has enough problems as it is; the idea of fallen heroes coming back might upset what delicate balance we've managed to keep up thus far."

Cero nodded. "What about Clover though? Has anyone tried to bring back a cyber elf?"

"I don't know, son." Zero watched as Doigt called Cerveau over from a connected room to access Clover's spree of mayhem. "Cyber elves aren't reploids. They aren't humans either, but their life cycle can be best described as being closest to reploids. They grow, unlike reploids, but mature much, much faster than humans do. She has not been alive for more than a year, but already she has made such a difference in the lives of those who know her. Her experiences are not invalidated by the number of years she has been consciously aware."

"She looks almost as old as I am," Cero said. "I wonder what she'd look like when she gets older."

Zero said nothing. Then, "I do not believe she will grow any more. Your mother told me that her physical growth should have mirrored that of her abilities. I haven't told her yet, but this is the last of her growth spurts. She will likely look like this for the rest of her life."

"But she's grown so much," Cero said. "You mean, she'll never be an adult?"

"This could very well be her adult form," Zero said. "As I said before, cyber elves are very different from humans. As she experiences more of life, she will grow as a person, but her physical capabilities are going to stay as they are. Like anything, they can be refined, but no more. Is that going to be a problem? It's okay if you are bothered by it; I know you looked forward to growing alongside her."

"It's a little strange," Cero admitted. "But that's okay, I think. She's always been my friend, even when she was in the nursery chamber. This doesn't change anything."

"I'm happy to hear you say that." Zero tussled his son's hair in a rare outright show of affection. "She's going to need you. You are her closest person; I don't think you realize just how special you are to her yet."

"She's my best friend," Cero said, but he had the feeling his father meant something different. "We should probably go check on her, huh?"

"I think so as well." Zero walked beside his son as they approached Clover. She was lying on the ground, panting from the effort, but her cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"I can make things go boom!" she exclaimed. "This changes everything!"

"I should hope not," Zero said sternly. "You are not to use any of your destructive traits outside of a mission or inside this room unless absolutely necessary. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Zero." Clover nodded meekly. "I got a little carried away, I guess."

"That's alright." Zero took the clipboard from Doigt's hands. "Your animal elf abilities are considerably powerful," he commented. "A few weeks ago and you could have done well at the Grand Serena, I'm sure."

"Aww," Clover said. "Do you think they'd still let me join? I could be like someone's second. If they die, I could take their place."

"Try not to sound too excited about that," Cerveau said bemusedly. "It's not like you can't make a tournament yourself."

"Wait, you can? Can we," she asked Zero. "We could let it be between the whole Resistance! We could turn the dining room into a free for all, or maybe a really big food fight."

"I don't think it would be fair to force anyone who didn't want to participate to join," Zero said. "And I doubt people would want to fight if there is a considerable difference in skill. You would need an impartial judge to preside over it, too." Zero made an audible sigh as four pairs of eyes gravitated his way. "I suppose I could host it."

"Thank you Zero!" Clover hopped around the room, blowing what dummies whose heads dared remain intact across the room, unable to restrain her elation. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"What do you think Ciel will have to say about this," Cerveau asked Zero. "I'm not entirely convinced she's going to be all for disrupting the missions for the sake of a base-wide brawl." (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

"I'll think of something," Zero said, watching Cero's overly energetic elf bounce around. "Besides, I doubt Clover would take no for an answer." (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

"She's certainly into the idea," Cero said. (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

"Enough!" Doigt roared as Clover's voice raised in pitch. "He gets it."