#New Client Services Guide | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dreamgrlarchive · 2 years ago

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High Maintenance 101

Prissy Girl Beauty Regimens 🎀

my prissy girl guide to beauty services and building a beauty lifestyle that fits you 💗

Skincare:

Essential Skincare Routine ❤︎︎

twice daily, in the morning and at night

daytime: gentle cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, moisturizer, SPF

prep and protect skin

nighttime: double cleansing with oil and cleanser, exfoliation, treatments, moisturizer

wash away the day and help skin accept treatments and actives during your beauty sleep

products will change depending on skin type and goals, but sequence will more or less stay the same

Face Masks + Treatments ❤︎︎

Face Masks -

typically done at home 1-3x/week

clay, gel, mud, cream, liquid

my fav masks at home:

aha + bha liquid mask by the ordinary: a literal overhaul of my pores. it’s refining and helps reduce texture and hyperpigmentation. 1-2 x/week

korean modeling mask: i use this after doing everything in my routine. it’s super cooling and smooths my skin out. the low temp of the mask reduces flushing of my skin and helps the steps in my routine absorb better. 2-3 x/week

Treatments -

done either 1-3x/week and/or exclusively at night

consumer grade Retinols, AHAs, BHAs at high strength

little extra things i like to use to enhance my routine:

gua sha, ice pack, rose quartz roller, however often i choose

Facials ❤︎︎

done every 1-2 months by licensed estheticians

often includes exfoliation and extraction

Classic Facial: cleanse, extract, massage, moisturize

HydraFacials: extracts pores while infusing serums to boost skin’s vitamin and nutrient content

dry, dehydrated skin

Microdermabrasion: microabrasive tool removes outermost, textured, damaged layer of skin using suction to reveal a smooth and refined new layer of skin

sun damaged, aged, textured skin or skin with hyperpigmentation

Chemical Peel: application of medical grade AHA, BHA, Lactic Acid, Fruit Enzymes, or Retinol to peel away top layers of skin over the course of 1-2 weeks

pore refining, brightening, and anti-aging

after care is crucial. skin will be peeling and sensitivity to sun is increased. SPF MUST be used. it’s heavily advised that clients stay home for the first few days.

HydroJelly Facial: facial made of electrolytes, algae, organic white grain oat flour, rice flour, and white willow bark powder. leaving your skin hydrated, plump, and nourished. forms a vacuum-like seal that compresses facial contours.

there are 25 different hydrojelly pro masks for most skin concerns you may have, check here

More Facials ❤︎︎

Contouring Facial: sculpting, tightening, and lifting of facial muscles

LED Facial: uses LED light to soothe inflammation, aiding in acne healing and prevention

Vampire Facial: plumps skin and improves wrinkles by extracting blood, removing its platelets, then either re-injecting it into the skin or applying it topically

Diamond File Facial: finely ground diamonds resurface skin by filing to improve dark spots

Glass Skin Botox: multiple tiny botox injections just below the surface of the skin. alleviate fine lines, redness, texture, and more achieving glass skin

AquaGold Facial: microinjections that combine vampire facial methods, hyaluronic acid, botox, stem cells, antioxidants, vitamins, peptides, etc. improves fine lines, wrinkles, pores, pigmentation, acne scarring, dryness, tone, texture, skin elasticity, and more

cite

Hair:

Hair Care ❤︎︎

Wash Routines:

curly textured: wash and condition every 2-3 weeks, deep condition every 1-2 weeks

straight: wash and condition every 2-3 days, deep condition every 2-3 weeks

Styling ︎❤︎︎

Hair should have a style everyday! At home hairstyling is limitless and really depends on your taste and lifestyle. The everyday woman does her own her once every 1-4 weeks using natural hair products, heat, or other tools.

Professional Stylists:

hair is styled every 1-3 months: uses heat to straighten or curl, extensions to lengthen and add volume, shears to maintain/attain a shape and length

trim ends: every 6-8 weeks

hair color: touched up roughly every 6-8 weeks (depending on how fast your hair is growing and how fast your color will fade)

Silk Press:

after a clarifying wash and deep conditioning, natural hair is straightened using flat iron and/or pressing comb, then usually curled in feathers or pin curls to preserve the style

lasts 3-4 weeks depending on maintenance

preserved by wrapping hair at night, keep hands out of hair, and using a wide toothed comb only

can be further styled with different kind of rollers, or with pin curls

Braids:

afrocentric hairstyles typically done to protect hair while maintaining beauty

lasts 3-8 weeks

styles include knotless braids, faux locs, stitch braids, french braids, etc

Extensions:

hair added to natural hair to enhance length or volume

can be done at home with patience and proper materials

sew-in extensions: (my personal fav) 1-2 months

your natural hair gets braided down flush to your scalp and the bundles are sewn on by the wefts in a flat pattern typically with a section of hair left out to cover the wefts $100-600

microlinks: up to 4 months

i-tip extension is added to hair using micropliers, clippers and loop tool. takes far longer than most extension methods but looks the absolute most natural $500-1000

tape-in extensions: up to a year, touch ups every 4-6 weeks

medical grade tape is used to attach extensions to small sections of hair $200-400

clip-in extensions: 3-6 months

extensions are clipped on by the wefts. the hair itself can last up to six months, but it’s not recommended to sleep, shower, or swim with the extensions in $50-100

Natural Styles:

all last roughly 1-2 weeks at most. allowing hair to completely DRY is crucial for these styles. your natural hair can be further changed in styles like buns, puffs, etc once dry

natural hair essentials: scalp oil, leave in conditioner, detangling brush, wide tooth comb, curling cream, styling gel, edge control and edge brush

wash n’ go

wash and detangle, then use leave in conditioner to keep hair moist. oil on the scalp and ends is recommended for growth and healthy ends

bantu knots

a traditionally african style where the hair is cleanly sectioned (usually parted in a cute pattern) and twisted into knots. style can be worn just like this or taken down for curls

braid/twist out

a specific pattern of curls is achieved after hair is twisted or braided with curl preserving products. end result depends on how big your twists or braids are

roller set

hair is sprayed with water and curl cream applied before roller of your choice is added. hair is left to dry usually overnight for springy well formed curls

Brows and Lashes:

Brow Shaping ❤︎︎

in salon or at home

Waxing - every 3 weeks

Threading- every 2-3 weeks

Razor Shaping - weekly

Brow Enhancement ❤︎︎

Tinting - monthly

can be done at home or by pro in the salon

Microblading - every 1-3 years + annual touch ups, exclusively professional work

cosmetic tattooing using a manual tool with nearly invisible hair-like needles to inject pigment in brows to create your desired brow look

Lash Enhancements ❤︎︎

*done exclusively by professionals

Lifts - every 6 weeks

basically a perm for your lashes to curl them semi-permanently for lashes to appear longer

Lash Extensions - new set every 6-8 weeks, fill ins every 2-3 weeks depending on quality and style

false individual strands of lashes glued to natural lashes to create semi-permanent length and/or volume

lash baths: wet lashes and apply a small amount of gentle cleanser or a “lash bath” to lashes. cleanse lashes and eyelids for about 10 seconds. hold a towel under your eye and use a nozzle bottle to flush soap and bacteria from lashes then dry with a disposable lint free towel. finish by brushing your lashes with a spoolie. daily.

Lash Styles:

Classic: one lash on each fan, thin lashes

Volume: fluffier lashes with more lashes on each fan

Hybrid: uses classic and volume lashes to make an alternated look

Russian: volume lashes made with very thin individuals, 5-6 extensions per natural lash, fanned out look

DIY Lash Extensions - lasts about a week (sometimes longer)

lash fragments or individual wisps are glued either under the lashes or on the lash line. KISS Falscara is a product that makes this concept simple and easy

Nails:

all these services can be done at home with the proper materials and KNOWLEDGE

Classic Manicure ❤︎︎

every 1-2 weeks

nail service that consists of soaking hands in warm soapy water then drying them. nails are trimmed, filed, and buffed. cuticles are pushed back before applying nail polish (base coat, color, top coat), then finally cuticle oil is applied.

nails can be enhanced with rhinestones, glitter, or charms and attached with uv gel or nail glue

my fav styles are pink, cream, white, black and any french tip using those colors

Pedicure ❤︎︎

every 2-4 weeks

sister to the classic manicure, but can be upgraded depending on materials. steps are similar to manicure, except feet are scrubbed and exfoliated before feet are washed and dried to apply nail color

regular polish, acrylic, or gel can be used on toenails

Gel or Shellac Mani ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks

same process as the classic manicure, but traditional nail polish is replaced with uv base coat, gel or CND Shellac polish, then uv top coat that’s cured in a UV or LED lamp

longer lasting and more strong/3d than classic mani and is typically removed by soaking in acetone

Apres Gel-X Nails ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks

my personal fav at home nails using the artme yoko matsuda nails. after doing a classic mani sans polish, you apply a dehydrator and primer to prep nail for gel. then you apply builder gel to your natural nail and cure. then you apply that same builder to the nail extension after etching it using an electric drill or acetone. marry the gel to your nail and cure. then just shape to your liking and top with uv top coat. tutorial here

Acrylic Nails ❤︎︎

every 2-3 weeks, nails are fully grown out after 6 weeks

manicure done with liquid monomer and acrylic powder to build and extend natural nail, then polished with color or just a top coat if desired

Russian Mani ❤︎︎

every 4-5 weeks

essentially a gel manicure, but more invasive. the eponychium is snipped away so polish can be applied more closely and flush to the cuticle. this aids in visuals and longevity

service is seen as risky because the skin is more susceptible to fungal or bacterial infection. this is actually how i do my nails at home.

Body:

Bathing ❤︎︎

2x daily

self explanatory, we all know how to bathe. i have other posts that talk about my shower and bath routines.

use a gentle cleanser then a scented body wash to complement perfume and smell fresh all day.

if needed, you can use body soaps with actives like aha, bha or retinol to exfoliate or treat skin at night

exfoliation - 2-3x/week. using scrubs, loofahs, bath brushes, etc.

Hair Removal ❤︎︎

shaving - 2-3x/week

waxing - every 3-5 weeks

sugaring - monthly

ipl device - a device that uses light therapy to slowly destroy hair follicles and unwanted pigment in skin. i use mine after every 5-6 shaves but i could really use it more often.

Vajacial ❤︎︎

1-2x/month

a “facial” for your lady area

the esthetician will first wax, then cleanse and apply an enzyme exfoliant. then they extract any blackheads or ingrown hairs from the area before applying a soothing mask usually in the jelly form.

Moisture and Hydration ❤︎︎

body cream or lotion - daily right after bathing to hydrate skin

body oil - daily to seal in moisture and protect skin from debris and dryness

masks - weekly to address particular skin concerns

ex. when i was having eczema flare ups on my back, i used a dead sea mud mask every 1-2 weeks to help treat it

done at home or at spa

glycolic, clay, mud, salicylic, etc.

Enhancement Procedures:

the goal is to look younger and balance facial features. all these services are exclusively done by professionals usually in a medspa and are widely considered luxury.

Botox ❤︎︎

every 6-8 months; between brows, smile lines, outer corners of eyes, etc

discourages muscle movement to reduce wrinkles

Lifts ❤︎︎

lasts about 10 years; face, neck, brow, eyelids

skin is lifted to desired look, then excess skin is removed

Fillers ︎❤︎︎

every 6-12 months; under-eye, lips, jawline, wrinkle sites, cheekbones

injects acids (usually naturally occurring) like Hyaluronic Acid and Calcium Hydroxylapatite to add volume to your face

Body Contouring ❤︎︎

every 2-4 months until desired results are achieved

non invasive liposuction to achieve desired physique

CoolSculpting - cryolipolysis freezes fat cells for the body to the metabolize and and remove them

SculpSure - essentially the same as CoolSculpting, but uses heat and laser technology to destroy fat cells

Laser Hair Removal ❤︎︎

every 5-6 weeks; bikini, underarms, legs, arms

touch ups done every 1-2 years

hair growth is inhibited by exposing follicles to light at frequencies that kill them

Building the Regimen 🗒️💕:

when making appointments with your “glam squad” you can stagger your services by week depending on what’s being done. for example you can get your mani and pedi done one week. then your facials, brows and lashes another week.

Things to Keep in Mind 💭💞:

these frequencies won’t be the same for everyone depending on personal wants, budgets, etc. but will most likely land somewhere in the ranges i gave. if you need touch ups or redos any sooner than i mapped out, then the service most likely was of poor quality.

anything done at home may or may not be up to the level of detail and longevity as salon or spa work. if you see yourself doing the majority of your beauty maintenance at home, this can save money but may end up taking more time than professional services. so it’s a give and take.

More Resources:

manage your routines, services and products using a beauty binder

a look at my skincare routine

at home beauty treatments for the summer

my hair care routine at home

pretty on purpose by @shefromhouston

monthly beauty routine by @angeljpg

dream girl routines by me

#the prissy girl agenda #dream girl journey #prissy lifestyle tips 💕🎀#dream girl routines #masterpost #my posts #skincare

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literaryvein-reblogs · 2 months ago

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Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble, I was wondering if you could give me some tips or teach me how to introduce myself as an author? I have a serious doubt about how to start this since I'm new to this.

Writing Notes: Author Profile

Professional Bio - (short for professional biography) is a summary of your background, including details like work experience and education.

Serves to introduce you to the reader, usually to establish your credibility and forge a personal connection, like a mini-cover letter.

You can use a professional bio across many mediums, from social media profiles to resumes to blog footers.

They can range from a few sentences to a few paragraphs in length.

How to Write a Professional Bio

Whether you’re applying for new jobs or making a website for your small business, you don’t have to follow a template to write a compelling professional bio. Here is a quick guide to help you in the crafting process:

Determine the purpose. To write a stellar bio, you’ll need to know the exact reason you’re writing it. Identify your target audience and desired outcome. Knowing your bio’s purpose will help you determine its length, necessary components to feature, the ideal point of view (e.g., first person or third person), and tone.

Tailor it to your needs. You can include a short, memorable bio in your portfolio materials, along with any credentials that show recruiters you are a great employee. When crafting a bio for work purposes, writing in the third-person perspective is optimal to help you stand out to hiring managers. You can also include a brief bio on your personal website’s “about page,” which can tell your story and show that you’re capable of serving your customers. This type of bio can help you form a confident, personal connection with your potential clients and is often written in a first-person perspective to sound more personable.

Begin with the most important information. Identify the most important information and include it in the first sentence of your bio. Usually, the first sentence of a professional bio will consist of your full name, your current position, and length of service in the role. Try to keep this sentence clear and concise so that it serves as a clear hook—a long, wordy, opening sentence can run the risk of confusing or losing your readers’ attention.

Add in previous professional experience. Once you state the most important information, add a few more details about your professional background—for instance, previous work experience, job titles, professional accomplishments, schooling, or technical credentials. Keep this section focused and specific (for example, limit yourself to two or three bullet points of personal achievements), or it may seem too braggadocious. If you don’t have a lot of previous experience yet, mention a specific detail or two that shows your capabilities within the field.

Include personal details about your life. Your bio can include information outside of your personal work history. Some people list hobbies, personal interests, fun facts, or pets in their bios to show their personality.

Tips for Writing a Professional Bio

When writing your bio, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

Focus on vital information. The best bios include essential and interesting information. A biography weighed down by extraneous details can become dull or bury critical details. Your bio’s optimal length will depend on its purpose, so consider that before you begin the writing process.

Consider adding links or handles. In situations where you want readers to find you online or contact you, consider adding links for your website or professional social media pages at the bottom of your bio. Linking is especially common in biographies that accompany a writer’s byline on an online blog post.

Maintain a few different bios. Maintain a few different versions of your bio ensures that you’re ready for any situation that requires one. A three-sentence professional bio, a casual or humorous bio, and a more extended bio are all good options to have on-hand.

Profile - a written portrait of a person.

Often, a profile is published as a narrative non-fiction article in a newspaper, magazine, or website.

The story is based on facts discovered through research as well as interviews with the subject and their friends, family, or professional associates.

A profile piece is meant to be informative. It is a portrait of the person through a combination of stories, quotes, and photographs.

Tips for Writing a Profile of a Person

Capturing the essence of a person through words takes good observation and writing skills. Follow these 10 tips to learn how to write a profile:

Read other profiles. To know how to write a profile essay, read how other writers do it. Find feature profiles in the New Yorker. You can also find personality profiles throughout The New York Times, particularly in the Sunday edition of the paper. Look for what information the writer presents about their subject. At the end of the piece, see if you have any lingering questions about the person to make sure you fill those gaps in your own story.

Do your prep work. When you know who the subject of your piece is, start doing some prep work. Research the person. If they’re well-known, it will be easy to find information online. It’s important to use reputable websites in order to find accurate information—this will also save you effort when you or an editor fact-check the article before it’s published. The second part of your prep work will be writing out the questions you want to ask your subject. After doing your research and have read other articles, ask questions other writers haven’t asked yet.

Create an outline. Before you get started, create an outline for your story. Use bullet points to highlight the main points you want to make in your article. You should also figure out the angle of your story. When a journalist writes a story, they have some kind of news angle to their piece—a focus that pulls the article together. This will help you determine what information you need to find out from your subject.

Interview your subject. When you write a profile, you’ll meet with your subject and interview them at least once but usually several times for a big feature story. Be prepared with your questions but also be ready to follow the natural flow of the conversation. Ask questions during your meeting that you think readers will want to know. Pose questions that will encourage your subject to tell a story. Ask them to share anecdotes. Avoid yes or no questions. You want them to open up. Make sure to record and transcribe the entire interview. As you review their answers on paper or on your computer, highlight the best quotes.

Observe your subject in their environment. When you’re writing a profile of somebody, you need to spend time with them on their turf. Your profile piece should capture them in their environment and allow readers to see their world. If you’re writing about a musician, you might meet them at home but also go to the studio with them to watch how they compose a song. Make several trips to become acquainted with your subject—it might take a lot of time for them to let their guard down and be themselves around you.

Start with a strong lede. As you gather your information and write your profile, you must start strong. Your opening line and paragraph, otherwise known as your lede, needs to capture the reader’s attention. You’re setting the scene for your article and creating a first impression of this person, so make sure you hook your readers from the start.

Incorporate direct quotes. While you’re crafting this piece with your own words, you need to show your subject’s point of view. Quote them extensively in this piece. As a general rule of thumb, try to use a few quotes for every topic you cover in the profile. It can be a good idea to let your subject have the last word and end with a quote. On top of the subject’s quotes, you’ll be interviewing others who know this person, like friends, family, and associates. Their stories can contribute interesting information to your piece.

Tell a story. Like any other piece you write, good profiles have a beginning, middle, and end. Use a narrative writing style. Use descriptive language. Your subject is your main character, so develop them for your reader. Include any interesting tidbits and background information about their life, like obstacles they’ve overcome. This will help illustrate what motivates them.

Reveal new information. Write a unique, great profile that gives the reader fascinating takeaways about the person. If you’re writing about someone famous, they’ve most likely been interviewed before. Find additional information that hasn’t been published that makes them more compelling to your readers and gives your story a unique approach. If you’ve crafted great questions, you’ll be able to uncover fascinating information about your subject’s life.

Show, don’t tell. Many profile articles will include the writer’s experience of meeting their subject and conducting the interview. In that case, you’ll write the story in first person, including yourself in the narrative. Describe the experience using sensory details of the person and their environment. Capture what the person is like in real life to let readers feel like they know this person.

Examples of a Professional Bio

Here are a few short professional bio examples that work to establish the writer’s credentials and paint a picture of their professional identity:

Marketing bio: Sylvia Johnson has served as the director of marketing at Hardy & Jones International for four years. Previously, she ran the communications department at Marketing Incorporated and coordinated a team of copywriters at The ABC-Scribe Organization. She has a master’s degree in business administration from Great University and still cheers on its basketball team. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and photography.

Arts and entertainment bio: Adam O’Hare has a bachelor’s degree in art history from Great University. During his studies, he completed a one-year internship at the Museum of Art, where he led guided tours and spent time designing an all-new organization system for the archives. When he’s not enjoying works of art, you can find him at home spending time with his two dogs, Rembrandt and Picasso. Adam can be reached at ______________.com.

Entrepreneur bio: My name is Rachel Smith, and when I was four years old, my mother found me sneaking Brie cheese out of the fridge—it’s safe to say that I’ve always been passionate about good food. I went on to work as a sous chef in several Houston-area restaurants before getting my master’s degree in food science. After many years of cooking and eating in the city, I became frustrated that there wasn’t a reliable place to shop for high-quality ingredients near my home. That’s why I founded Rachel’s Food Company, an organization dedicated to helping you find the top-shelf ingredients you need in the kitchen.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Hi, this is perfectly fine! Here are some tips and notes from a couple of sources I found. So it depends on where you're posting/using your author introduction to help you determine how formal you want to be, what types of information you'll include etc. Definitely look at examples of your favourite writers' own author profiles as well to give you more ideas. All the best with creating your intro!

#anonymous #writing tips #writeblr #writing reference #writers on tumblr #spilled ink #dark academia #writing prompt #creative writing #literature #writing inspiration #writing ideas #writing resources

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thebisexualdogdad · 10 months ago

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Stripper Evan Buckley is hired by Y/N's friends as a surprise for his birthday party and he's blushing when the "firefighter" strips off his uniform and straddles him

Evan Buckley x Male!reader

Music is playing throughout the house, you and your friends having a good time at the party they threw for your birthday when there's a knock at the door.

“Ready for your present Y/N?” One of your friends says with a grin.

“Present? Throwing me this party wasn't enough?” You laugh.

“Bring him in,” he says to another friend who goes to the door.

He opens it up and there is a firefighter standing on the other side.

“I heard there was a fire?” He smiles, stepping inside, “now where's the birthday boy?”

“Right here,” your friend says loudly and pointing to you.

“You got me a stripper?” You say in disbelief, gulping as he approaches and you get a better look at his face realizing he might just be the hottest man you've ever seen.

“Y/N right? Just sit down and relax,” the stripper says as your friend grabs a chair and places it behind you, letting him push you down onto it.

“So uh, what's your name?” You ask as the music changes into something way more sensual than what was originally playing.

“Everyone calls me Buck,” he smiles.

“It's very nice to meet you Buck,” you nod, your heart beating fast as he starts dancing, your friends crowded around to watch the show.

He places his foot on the chair between your legs, ripping his shirt off and your friends cheer.

“Want to touch them?” He smirks, your eyes locked on his massive tits.

You're stuck in a trance and you can't bring yourself to say anything so he takes your hand, placing it on his chest before guiding it down to his abs as he rolls his body, practically grinding his crotch in your face.

He dances some more, moving around your chair and running his hands all over your body.

The cheering gets louder when a new song begins to play and his pants are torn off to reveal his giant bulge barely being contained by a red thong.

Buck then straddles your lap, throwing his head back and simulating like he's riding you making you blush hard.

His tits are so close to your lips you want so badly to suck on them which Buck can tell so he brings them even closer just to tease you.

He grins proudly when he feels your erection growing in your pants and sure he often has to pretend to be attracted to his clients so they give him a better tip in the end but he had to admit, he was genuinely attracted to you which made this so much more enjoyable for him.

Buck notices someone holding a piece of cake so he motions for them to bring it to him and when they do he swipes his finger through the frosting and places it in front of your lips and looks you straight in the eyes when he says, “lick.”

Your tongue darts out, licking at the frosting before taking his finger in your mouth.

He moans as you suck on it and tells you, “good boy.”

With all the frosting gone he takes his finger out of your mouth and once again grabs your hands, placing them on his ass and letting you squeeze his cheeks, your friends throwing bills around you two.

He gets off your lap, turning around in front of you so you get a full view of his back side and bends down to start shaking his ass.

Your friend hands you some money and you stick it in his thong and he turns back to face you as the song is coming to its end.

Buck positions himself so his bulge is right in your face again as he rolls his hips and you stick the rest of the money in his thong.

He finishes his routine and everyone cheers loudly one more time.

After everything is said and done and Buck is packing his things up to leave you go over to him and thank him for coming and giving him the rest of his tip.

“It was my pleasure Y/N,” he smiles at you, “and happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” you blush.

“Here's my card, call me if you ever need my services again and just so you know I do private sessions too,” he winks at you.

This was definitely the best birthday ever.

#911 imagine #evan buckley imagine #evan buckley x reader #x male reader #fic

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starkenobi · 4 months ago

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The White Wolf | Bucky Barnes x reader

masterlist — warnings: fantasy; romance; werewolf!bucky; pirate!reader; prince!bucky; stark!reader; soulmates.

Summary: She's one of the greatest pirates of her time, bringing chaos throughout the human kingdoms... Until an unfortunate event changes her life completely. And the white wolf makes sure to be definitive.

The salty breeze of a typical hot day, the clear blue sky mixing with the deep blue ocean as they meet on the horizon, the sun at its peak illuminating and guiding the way. A moment of calm that Y/N wouldn't trade for anything, the feeling of belonging that only the sea could provide her.

Of course, things weren't always easy, the life she chose constantly provided an adrenaline rush, the need to fight to conquer what she wanted. Gaining fame early on, she rarely needed to worry about surviving. Not when the supernatural was on the same side, being the biggest client for her services. Dealing with other humans was one of the least of her concerns and for the Phantom crew.

There was some truth to the rumors circulating on land. Y/N Stark had renounced the golden spoon in which she was born, preferring to take possession of a ship and embrace the title of pirate. With her money, power and influence, she became one of the worst nightmares of the entire kingdom, making sure to leave her mark of chaos while plundering the rulers and their court. The pirates of Phantom enjoyed destroying the royal plans, getting in the way, especially when the royalty pursued the supernatural.

To further fuel the rumors, a new commander - from the royal guard of the largest kingdom to declare war on Y/N - was chosen for the mission to arrest the pirate. Tony Stark, her twin.

This should have been the sign that she should be more careful and prepare for the time when she'd have to face her brother. However, Y/N still had a fondness for him and memories of their youth were her weak point. But, certainly, no one expected that the always fair commander Tony Stark would attack during a storm, with no intention of taking the Phantom crew members to prison or alive, especially his own twin. 'You are a disgrace' were the only words the male Stark said before shooting the pirate he once called sister. The commander's cold, emotionless face was the last thing Y/N saw before she was swallowed by the dark waters of the sea.

"Man overboard! Attention, starboard!"

What should have been a calm routine patrol, with all the peace agreements between the four empires, quickly became a day of uncertainties. Under the watchful eyes of Captain Natasha, the crew members quickly moved to save whoever was overboard, placing the body on the deck. A woman. Natasha frowned, watching Clint - her faithful second-in-command - approach to see if the woman was dead or not.

"What is it, Clint?" The redhead arched an eyebrow, taking a few steps closer when she noticed the paleness on her companion's face. "Is she still alive?"

"Yes, she’ll need care for dehydration, maybe she was at sea for a couple of days..." Clint swallowed hard, raising the arm he was holding and showing the unconscious woman's wrist "She has the mark, Tasha."

The big white wolf appeared on the deserted beach, its paws leaving a trail in the sand. However, what caught Y/N's attention the most were its teeth bared in threat. James Buchanan Barnes was angry and didn't seem to want to talk. The pirate rolled her eyes, soaked from head to toe and exhausted from the effort she had made to get there. She couldn't believe that the so-called prince of the beautiful lupine kingdom was so temperamental.

Sure, Y/N stole a small boat and tried to leave, but, in her defense, she had unfinished business to resolve outside of that island of wolves. It wouldn't be a mark she had since birth, which the wolves say is the symbol of a soulmate, that’d make her lower her head and accept orders. Y/N was a pirate, the greatest pirate at that time, it was her obligation to maintain her status and avenge her crew.

“No, that’s absurd!” The pirate grumbled in disbelief as she felt Bucky grab her clothes and drag her across the sand. “Bad boy!”

However, the pirate's complaints were ignored no matter how much she screamed and struggled, the wolf being much stronger than the human. Crossing her arms, Y/N stopped screaming but continued to complain, determined to maintain her dissatisfaction even as she began to be dragged through the soft grass that led towards the castle. Bucky only released her when they were close enough to the prince's two best friends, Steve and Sam, who were waiting for them with a huge smile on their faces.

“Of course you’d find this all amusing.” Y/N rolled her eyes, hating how easily the two helped her up from the ground. Breaking away from them, the pirate tried to maintain what little dignity she had left, trying to clean her clothes from the salt water, sand and grass in vain. “I can’t believe I’m a prisoner in this place.”

A growl interrupted her chatter, Y/N didn’t need to look up to know who it was. “So being my soulmate is the same thing as being a prisoner, Stark?”

The pirate's ears turned red, quickly turning on her heels to face Bucky, she exclaimed in a high-pitched tone. "That's not what I meant!"

The prince rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore it, taking one of her hands and walking in silence. The two friends fell behind when they realized that Bucky had followed the path to the secret garden, knowing that the couple needed privacy at the moment.

It wasn't the first time Y/N had tried to leave, with a series of failed attempts, all of them looking like the clear act of a lost person. And that was what the pirate could be classified as, it was never easy to suddenly recover part of one's memory. When she was taken to the hospital wing, she remained in a coma for weeks, causing a commotion even when she was unconscious. Because, as if it wasn't enough that the prince's soulmate was a pirate, she was also human.

But it didn't matter to Bucky, who made visits late at night in the hope that she’d wake up and finally meet him. The news of who the unconscious woman was arrived like a meteor, or rather, it arrived through a messenger from the aquatic people who - with a certain delay - warned about the great pirate who chose to protect the magical world from others of her own kind. Bucky felt his chest fill with pride, knowing that his soulmate was a good person despite so many atrocities collected under her belt.

However, Y/N woke up with no memories, amnesia even stealing her name. Each day was a new discovery, of what she liked, what she knew, what she couldn't stand. Bucky was always by her side, the days turned into weeks, which turned into months, the two of them naturally drew closer like magnets. Almost eight months had passed when Bucky was abruptly woken from his sleep, Y/N tossing and crying in the middle of a nightmare, the memories returning like a terrible storm.

From then on, the pirate had changed drastically, somewhat confused because of her personality from when she had no memory clashing with the past. She seemed to fight against the feelings she had developed for Bucky, in a stupid attempt to return to the pirate life and get revenge on her own brother. But, at the same time, Y/N seemed not to want to complete such a thought, always leaving clues about her escape plans.

“You need to leave the past in the past, sweetheart.” The wolf finally broke the silence, both of them sitting on a bench that overlooked the beach in the distance. “I already told you, I don’t want to keep you here, we can organize for you to continue your mission to help the supernatural… But in the right way.”

“Do you think humans will leave it behind too when they find out I’m alive?” She replied, but without aggression, staring at the horizon with a certain sadness.

Bucky sighed, resting his forehead on her shoulder, squeezing their still intertwined hands lightly. "We are connected, they will respect you. Even if I have to make them kneel again."

Y/N didn't answer, she knew the prince would fulfill any promise he made, he’d use the power he had in his hands without thinking twice. And that was what Y/N feared, she didn't want Bucky risking himself and putting the island in danger because of her. She needed to make a definitive choice.

The famous pirate Stark was truly dead. Two years later, Y/N lived happily as the wife of Prince James Barnes, proudly bearing the mark of her soulmate on her arm. Secretly working with Natasha, Clint and Steve to continue the mission of protecting the supernatural, the magical kingdoms united to also fight against human laws - with the help and knowledge of Y/N. Things were going well, they were gradually gaining more security and strength, conquering space in human territory. Of course, far from the big cities it was still extremely difficult, but everyone had hope that everything would improve.

Everything was going well, until Y/N made a mistake.

“So you’re alive!” the great commander Tony Stark growled in disbelief, the revolver in his hand pointed at the ex-pirate, who refused to pick up her own weapon. “I should have known you were behind all this.”

“Tony, please, I have nothing to do with this mess.” Y/N muttered, raising her hands slightly in a sign of surrender. Her eyes calculated a possible escape, but she was once again cornered by her brother. “I’m not that woman you killed anymore.”

Tony laughed mockingly, without any humor, and without saying anything, pulled the trigger, hitting one of Y/N’s arms. She let out a grunt of pain and surprise, her body crashing against the railing of the huge bench. “Do you want me to believe that you didn’t kill these people? You didn’t plan on stealing important files and scriptures for personal gain? Wasn't it enough to have stolen everything from our family?”

“Damn it, Anthony! I was in a secret meeting with these people, until a traitor from the current human government attacked us!” Y/N said, feeling sadness mix with pain, her eyes unfocusing for a moment.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor.” Tony spat the words, ignoring what she was trying to say.

“Shit, can’t you see that this was an ambush to create a war between humans and the supernatural?”

Y/N screamed. Tony aimed the revolver again, but what neither of them expected was an aggressive growl to break the moment and a huge white wolf to appear, jumping on Tony without thinking twice.

The royal commander swore, trying to defend himself from the attack with his own fists. In the midst of the fight, the man managed to retrieve the revolver despite the wolf’s bites and scratches. Y/N, who had frozen in shock, moved without realizing it, throwing herself to protect the wolf from the new shot.

A howl of pure despair and then Y/N saw nothing but darkness.

The sky blended with the blue of the ocean, the salty breeze caressing her face and messing up her hair, the sun illuminating and leaving a certain glow on everything it touched, the scent of the flowers that took over the entire garden. A smile took over Y/N’s lips, closing her eyes to enjoy that moment of plenitude. Of peace. The feeling of being on solid ground was soothing, the sea became just a second home.

“For a moment I thought you had run away.” Bucky’s voice sounded beside her, making Y/N open her eyes to look at her beloved.

Y/N smiled knowingly, sighing when the wolf pulled her body into a tight hug. “That’d be ridiculous, James, you have that wolf radar that would locate me in an instant.”

“Right.” Placing a kiss on his wife’s neck, Bucky took a deep breath before murmuring. “Your brother woke up.”

“How is he?”

Bucky shrugged. “So far he has accepted that he’s no longer fully human.”

Y/N wanted to cry in relief, but she only allowed herself to turn around and kiss him on the lips. “Thank you for saving him.”

The truth is that Bucky, at first, never imagined that one day he would save Tony, not after the way he met him and the second attempt to kill his own sister. However, it was impossible to deny his beloved's request, especially when she woke up in tears begging to give Tony a chance and that it had all been just a communication error. Well, besides the fact that Steve had taken an interest in the human. Something about soulmates too.

That night of the ambush, Bucky didn't attack the commander to kill him, he wanted to capture him to get answers. It was months of turmoil until Y/N recovered, but any family fight they had to resolve was interrupted by a war between humans and the supernatural.

Unfortunately, Y/N decided that she’d settle the war with her own hands before it really started, something about pirate honor - even though she hadn't been one for years. Bucky thought he would lose her forever. Until Tony showed up almost dead with a Y/N in a similar state, the Stark brothers went together to fix the mess they claimed to have caused. Everyone disagreed, but something the Starks had in common was stubbornness. The result was the fall of the human royalty and the Stark brothers receiving the bite to survive their injuries.

“Anything for you, my moon.” Bucky smiled mischievously, making Y/N roll her eyes despite her blushing face.

“Bad dog as always.” Y/N retorted to hide how much her beloved’s words affected her.

With a growl of false irritation, the wolf pulled her in for another kiss, full of affection and whispered against Y/N’s lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too, my sun.”

The two remained there, enjoying each other’s presence, and Y/N for a moment felt grateful for all the choices she had made, even the wrong ones. Because everything led her to James.

comments, likes and reblogs are welcome and appreciated! thank you for reading and supporting my writing 💜

note: english isn’t my first language, and i don't mind if you call me inbox or dm to point out errors or typos. but please be kind!

#bucky barnes x reader #winter soldier x reader #romance bucky barnes #fantasy au #werewolf!bucky barnes #starkenobi writing #marvel fanfiction #fluff bucky barnes x reader #fantasy bucky barnes #prince!bucky barnes #wolf!bucky barnes #marvel fic #marvel fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction

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chugging-antiseptic-dye · 1 month ago

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seventeen as aromatherapists 🪔:

scoups: clients will feel better after he is done with them or so help him, he WILL fight god. only suggest clients to buy organic blends. is in the process of establishing his own manufacture company cause he is tired of seeing people sell fake 'therapeutic grade' oil online

jeonghan: ask him for a blend for personal use and he just smiles. is he an aromatherapist? is he an actual therapist masquerading as one? is he even legally allowed to do this? no one knows. the only constant thing is clients going in and becoming a new person after one session

joshua: loves to suggest incorporating infused oils into skincare. sandalwood is his go-to when he uses incense. applies jasmine oil as a perfume mixed with a scented allergen-free body lotion

jun: spends most of his time trying to tailor aromatherapy services for cats. is failing spectacularly at it but found that he is amazing at biscuit kneading like a cat. a win is a win ig

hoshi: for some reason, most of his clients ask if they can chug essential oils like a shot and it stresses him out so much that he runs to mingyu one a week to get a massage. thought for a long time that frankincense oil is made from frankenstein. jeonghan had to break it down to him gently

wonwoo: is super careful in making sure people are not coming for aromatherapy when they actually need a doctor. makes most of his money from selling a blend of oils for late night gamers. it's so popular that he accidentally started a cult

woozi: booked and busy till next year. clients swear that he can read their minds. makes small at-home recipes people can diy and prints them out as free pamphlets

mingyu: the best hot stone-cold stone massage aromatherapist in the whole state. the con is you have to listen to him yap the entire time. his personal favourite is bergamot and ginger infused with coconut oil

dokyeom: his favourite scents are sweet orange and cedarwood. uses local companies to get his supply of essential oils. uses aromatherapy in his daily life and to figure out what works best. currently obsessed with the eucalyptus oil + morning shower combo

minghao: big fan of diffusers. guides clients through different meditation and breathing techniques based on the blend used. do NOT ask him about crystals. he is an aromatherapist not a charlatan

seungkwan: engraved the words, 'holistic' into his bones. adores giving clients little tips to feel more balanced in their life like dropping a few drops of lavender on a tissue when they can't sleep or rosemary oil when clients are worried about losing hair

vernon: cites scientific sources and infodumps on the oils he is using. emphasizes that aromatherapy can only help if the clients are also improving other aspects of life and diet. his favourite joke is, "peppermint oil or a peppermint gum?" no one else laughs at this except wonwoo who lets out a pity chuckle

chan: reads out the disclaimers like its a manifesto (he is scared that he will send someone to the hospital). loves applying oils to pressure points and seeing people go limp in relaxation. his go-to infused blend is ylang-ylang, cacay, and a tiny bit of rose hip oil

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countessvalentines · 9 months ago

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Why Dont You Do Right (pt. 1?)

pairing: the ghoul/f!reader

word count: 2.2K

warnings: 18+ Only, Minors Do Not Read!! sex work, smut, oral sex, P in V sex,

summary: a mysterious ghoul requests your services in Gomorrah during his visit to New Vegas.

notes: this is my first time writing the ghoul and not cooper, I hope this was what y'all were hoping for!

dividers by @saradika

gif by @hereticstations

Gomorrah hotel and casino but of course its so much more than that. You'd been employed there for a couple of months but have already made quite the reputation for yourself. Not many "smoothskins" here take ghoul clients, but you were an equal opportunity dancer and sex worker and caps were caps. Besides, sometimes ghouls could produce an experience only they can give and you were all about gaining new life experiences since you arrived in New Vegas...

It's a far cry from where you came from.

It's a typical day for you at work, dancing in Brimstones lower lounge as you had been stationed. Not every dancer also takes clients either, but you wanted to take every opportunity that came your way and being in the lower lounge with easier access to the courtyard outside made that a much easier task for you.

It's the start of your shift and not many customers have come in yet, the place is empty save for a few regulars that always come as soon as it opens. That's when you see a particular cowboy come striding in. His duster is old and worn, colors on his jacket faded. His tanned hat is pulled down over his face, but something is striking about him and his presence.

Everyone in the place seems to have some sort of reaction to him, most seem to cower in fear, some customers just leave. To you, he's another customer so you keep up your seductive dance. Besides, your favorite song just came on.

You had plenty money 1922. You let other women make a fool of you...

The slow jazz tune plays as you snake your arms above your head and sway your hips to the low bass. It seems to get the attention of the cowboy who walks over to your station and sits down on the booth. His hat still covers his face as he spreads his thighs and removes the bag slung over his shoulder.

You continue to dance to the music, turning around slowly as you remove your lacy robe, spinning it around your head before walking up to him and wrapping the lace around his neck playfully.

Why don't you do right? like some other men do...

As you get a look at him, you notice he's a ghoul, which explains some of the reactions he got when he walked in, but certainly not all. That's not all you notice about him, his eyes are piercing, perceptive, watching you closely in a way you can't quite put your finger on. Part of his look makes you think he wants to kill you and eat you, while at other times he looks like he's trying to see through your soul. It's not the usual vulnerability you're used to feeling with hungry eyes on you, but you try to shake it off and focus on the art of the tease.

If you had prepared twenty years ago You wouldn't be wanderin' now from door to door.

You turn away from him, putting your backside in the air and crawling to the ground. You claw your way on the ground away from him, emphasizing your hip movements with each crawl. You get up on your knees and spin to face him, whipping your hair around. You roll your hips in waves over and over to the beat of the low notes, making eye contact with him.

Something about him draws you in where it seemed to repel so many others, and it makes you so curious about him. You get to your feet and dance your way over to his seat, making his lap your chair and wrapping an arm around his neck.

"What brings you to Gomorrah cowboy?" You know better than to ask for names in a place like this.

"Same as everyone else, darlin." He says in a growl as he hovers a gloved hand over your waist and eyes your body as you sit on him.

In encouragement, you put your hand on his and invite him to touch you, guiding his hand to your waist while you straddle him.

"And what's that?" You ask curiously as you lean forward and press your chest to his while rolling your shoulders back in time with the rhythm of the song.

"I know it when I see it." He says as he looks at you, his hazel eyes gazing into yours. His eyes are heavy with an exhaustion only the wasteland brings.

In your time here you've gotten to read people well enough and there's a determination in his eyes that of which can't be compared. Besides, the way he looks at you makes it clear he hasn't been touched intimately in quite some time. You begin rolling your against him as the music swells to its finish. You can feel his arousal building beneath you and you smirk knowingly.

Get out of here and get me some money, too Why don't you do right? Like some other men do Like some other men do

"Are you seeing it now?" You ask coquettishly while you wrap your arms around his neck and smirk at him.

Wordlessly, he smirks at you and takes off his hat, placing it on your head before lifting you up.

You yelp in excited surprise as he lifts you, but you can't help but giggle as he carries you to the private tents in the courtyard outside. You wrap your legs around his waist as he makes his way inside one of the tents.

The heavy canvas blocks out most of the light and sets a particular mood inside. The ghoul carries you and sets you down on the mattress inside, pining you underneath him.

"Does that answer your question, sweetheart?" He growls as he lowers his body over you, the weight of his body and his heavy clothing keeping you from moving much beneath him.

"Only partly," You tease as you watch him move back and shrug off his heavy duster, falling to the floor with a thud.

He quirks his head as you answer his unspoken question.

"I don't know how much of my services you require."

You say while sitting up on your hands and bringing your knees up slightly to emphasize the shape of your legs.

"Lets just say I want whatevers on offer." He says in a low voice while taking his vest off and sliding it onto the floor. He starts unfastening his belt, and you take that as a signal. You get on your hands and knees and crawl over to him, taking his gloved hands in yours and stopping him.

You unfasten his belt for him, unzip his pants and spring his hardening length free. He growls as he grabs your jaw, looking down at you with hunger. You go to wrap your lips around him, but he stops you.

"Not just yet, doll." He coos before he reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a tin of Rad X. He shakes the tin before popping it open and pulling out a pill.

"Open wide." He instructs by mimicking the gesture. You comply and open your mouth for him and he pops the small pill in your mouth. With a gulp you swallow and he growls erotically as he gives you a crooked smile.

"Good girl." He says stroking your hair before grabbing your chin again and encouraging you to pick up where you left off.

Without hesitation, you wrap your lips around his erection. He groans as you continue to take him in more and more. The length is a bit intimidating but you manage to take him down your throat. Your tongue expertly licks up and around his shaft while you wrap your hand around the base and squeeze softly.

The ghoul moans and his eyes flutter closed while his hand wraps around the hair on the back of your head. He wraps your hair around his hand and tugs, pulling you away from him roughly. "You're doing that a little too well, darlin." He says gruffly while gazing down at your mouth dripping with saliva.

You take the compliment with a delicious grin and take only his tip inside your mouth. You flick your tongue over the sensitive slit and pump your hand up and down. The ghouls body reacts and his hips buck into you, needing more of your touch. You take more and more of him in your mouth slowly again and his grip on your hair tightens. He can't help but push you further onto him as much as he can. You take his entirety in your mouth and down your throat as he continues to thrust into you. His cock choking you slightly, but you're able to relax your throat enough for it to be comfortable for a few moments. That's all it takes for the ghoul, as he expels his release down your throat as his hand grips your hair and his whole body trembles. He groans harshly as he continues to spill down your throat, breaths getting more and more even as his hips calm down.

Slowly, you pull your mouth away from his body and release his cock from your lips. You look up at him for his reaction and he's looking down back at you with glazed and half-lidded eyes, clearly satisfied with your work. You smile as he grabs your chin, wiping away remaining cum and saliva left behind. You get to your feet, straightening your clothes and hair, and preparing to exit the tent.

Before you do, the ghoul quickly and roughly grabs your wrist and pulls you back towards him.

"Where do y'think You're goin?" He says with a smirk as he pulls you in towards his chest.

He tilts your head up towards him before taking your lips between his, tongue parting your lips open and tantalizing yours. His hands wrap around your waist and tugs what's remaining of your clothing and you help him take it off.

His rough leather gloves run over your soft skin, the contrast sending a shiver through your body. His eyes wander over you as his mouth moves from your lips to your jaw, nipping and biting with a low growl.

You definitely weren't expecting him to want to continue, usually your clients are a one-and-done situation, but this all felt so different.

With his arms tightly around you, he lifts you in the air and you instinctively wrap your legs around him. He holds you up with one arm, clearly incredibly strong, and he moves a gloved hand to his mouth removing it with his teeth. Quickly, he moves his hand between you and finds your heated core. He slips two fingers over your sensitive bud stroking it slowly and intentionally. You can feel your clit throbbing, your arousal building and your need growing. He smirks as you react, watching as your body clenches and writhes and your eyes close.

"That's it, sweetheart." He coos as he continues to expertly work your clit. You whimper and your breathing hitches, letting yourself relax and enjoy the sensations.

It doesn't take long for you to feel slick with desire, and he takes the opportunity. He pulls your hips downward in an aggressive motion and you feel him slip inside of you. Your internal walls clench around him and pulsate in time with his thrusts. Your breasts bounce as you ride him, pressing against his textured skin and adding additional pleasure. His moans get more and more frequent, his movements getting more and more sporadic as both of your pleasure continues to build. The way his ribbed cock feels inside of you is incredible and the way he knows how to pleasure your clit is like he's pleasured you 100 times before.

You feel your own rapture building in your center and your whimpers get more and more desperate. The ghoul growls in your ear before biting your earlobe and kissing down your neck.

"Come for me." He commands as you feel yourself shudder around him. Your clit throbs faster and faster and your walls clench around his dick as your orgasm reaches its peak. It causes you to cry out in ecstacy and as you do, you feel the ghoul's own release spill inside of you. It fills you with warmth as he holds you and his hips get slower and slower.

Finally, you both come down and he slips out of you, holding your sweating bodies close together for a moment before helping you to your feet.

As you stand, you feel a bit woozy and your balance starts to waiver. The ghoul holds you upright as he exhales a laugh.

"The Rad-X will help with that." He says while cleaning himself up and gathering his belongings.

As you gather your things, you're so satisfied you nearly forget this is a business. You've enjoyed yourself so much it seems almost wrong to charge him. Before you can say anything, he walks by you, brushing his shoulder against yours as he starts to leave.

"Start me a tab, doll. I'll be back."

#fallout #fallout show #fallout amazon #the ghoul #the ghoul x reader #the ghoul x you #the ghoul smut #cooper howard #cooper howard x reader #cooper howard x you #cooper howard smut #fallout imagines #fallout one shot #fallout smut #the ghoul x y/n #cooper howard x y/n

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ivesambrose · 4 months ago

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Pick a pile : 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 ❄️

A little gift as the year comes to a close. I intend that this winter brings you what you're looking for 🤍

More timeless readings here

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Client love

Thank you for the tip 🤍

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Picture 1

• You'll be confronting your shadows (habits and doubts) that hold you back and emerge stronger. It's a blessing to master your impulses rather than be consumed by them.

• You'll be able to outsmart people trying to sabotage or trick you.

• Moments of joy and celebration with people you know and trust rather than having to be around people you don't out of obligation.

• Some of you might even be able to be sober or cut out an unhealthy addiction or attachment around this time. Please be kind towards yourself and celebrate your wins.

• You'll have the necessary tools and resources to bring what you want in your life. This means, if you think that you're falling short of something, it's not true. Think again, you'll always be provided for, stealth opportunities will always arrive, solutions will always be presented, you also likely have the skill required for XYZ etc.

• Very niche blessing, but if some of you were struggling with hair issues, this will get better. Expect healthier hair regardless of whatever length you're going for.

• Some of you will also be blessed with better colleagues or social circles/network.

• Look out for messages in your dreams or any 'hunches' that you get.

• There's also a message I'm getting to expand your horizons, don't confine yourself because you're used to it.

Picture 2

• The comfort you've been seeking? It's here. Some of you may have also be seeking a new home or a place that feels like one, it's all coming.

• An absolute boost in your finances and resources. Some of you might also get a high paying work from home job or something involving houses etc or your own business that will be successful wherever you decide to run it from.

• Wisdom and clarity in your intuition will guide you the most. You'll be blessed in making decisions quickly and effectively. You'll also feel a lot more authoritative in your life. You'll also be able to switch off external noise, retreat and be content with yourself and your inner knowing.

• Blessings of steady progress and tangible results. Whatever efforts you've put in and continue to put in this season will lead to substantial accomplishment in the coming 8-9 months. It will be a very visible progress.

• You'll be blessed with something that makes you rather excited even if it seems like a lot of work is required in it you'll be more than happy to do it. Some of you may also be preparing to travel. I'm also seeing peace, prosperity and a sense of balance coming out of said travelling.

• It seems like during Autumn season some of you diligently 'locked in' be it in your mindset or anything that you believed in and this winter is bringing you the results.

Picture 3

• You'll be blessed with moments of pure joy and happiness. Maybe in the beginning it might even feel difficult to process an emotion this lovely but it will start becoming your new normal. Promise yourself to strive for the same.

• You'll have recognition and acknowledgement even for the small wins. It will flow in easier for you. Whether it's a compliment or a thank you or a simple celebration. You'll feel appreciated. And you deserve it!

• Your smaller wins will accumulate into bigger ones. You may also get a lumpsum of money or something tangible out of the blue.

• Balance will come to you naturally. Be it your personal and professional life or your own physical health etc. you won't feel like you're always on the edge of tipping over.

• You'll be blessed with a better sense of self and well being which will come through sooner once you acknowledge your own ways of self sabotage and decide to not let this be something you hold onto any longer. It's not worth it. That your self worth isn't tied to others or anything outside of you. That you are capable.

• Some of you, if you've been struggling with authority, leadership or a father figure in your life. Expect things to get better.

• Some of you who are athletes or in any kind of sports or entertainment, look forward to much awaited recognition as well as allocades.

#free readings #tarot community #divination community #pick a card #pac #pick a picture #pick a pile #winter messages

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suzuran777 · 6 months ago

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Review: Ooe -Zenpen- (Adelta)

The first part of Adelta's new BL visual novel "Ooe" was finally released on the 25th last month! The second part is scheduled to be released in winter, but the first part was already so good I highly recommend playing it. I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time and also wrote some general information/theories about the game on this blog some years ago, as well as a review of the trial version. I won't mention any big plot-related spoilers, so if you’re waiting for an English version or are just curious what the game is about, you can still check it out!

Synopsis 30th year of the Showa era (1955), our protagonist Oosaki works for a small detective agency and one day receives a strange request from a client. He's asked to attend a memorial service on behalf of his client, which will be held on the remote island of Ooejima. During his stay on the island, a series of strange events happen, and the ship that was supposed to pick them up never arrives. The organizer who invited them is not there, and shortly afterwards they also lose all contact with the outside world. Stranded on this ominous island, ten people unravel the mystery of their shared pasts and the death of the actress An Ooe.

This version of the game focuses on three different routes, Ariake, Shimbashi and Aomi. Similar to previous Adelta games, you play all of the routes in a pre-decided route order, and with each route you finish, a new choice will show up allowing you to proceed to the next route. As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, each character was assigned one earthly desire/mental factor that kind of describes the character, so I will also include this again below. Now I've played the game I know that these factors are definitely not their only personality trait, but some parts of it definitely show up in the story eventually.

Ariake - Disregard (Anapatrapya 無愧): A mortician who likes helping out those in need. After injuring his dominant hand, he has been receiving a lot of help from others. He's immediately very fond of Oosaki and wants to follow him everywhere. His mental factor pretty much indicates that he doesn't consider his own actions 'bad'.

Shimbashi - Stinginess (Mātsarya 慳): A screenwriter who speakes in a rather strange way, combining overly-polite speach and insults. When he first meets Oosaki, he doesn't seem to trust him at all and doesn't want to tell him anything. His mental factor refers to him only wanting to satisfy his own desires, and doesn't intend to share anything with others.

Aomi - Envy (Īrṣyā 嫉): A quiet music teacher who doesn’t talk a lot, and when he does speak, it’s limited to short sentences only. He doesn't like small talk and sometimes when Oosaki asks him something Aomi simply ignores him. His mental factor doesn't need much explanation, but even though it's envy I must say that he's not the overly-jealous type (?). It kind of refers to something more specific in his route which I can't really mention without spoiling.

I don't think you really need a guide for this game as it's pretty obvious when new choices unlock, just start a new game after finishing the first route and you'll see! Ariake does have an alternative ending scene, so during your second playthrough don’t immediately pick the choice that leads to Shimbashi’s route, and return to Ariake’s route one more time. Afterwards you can proceed as usual. Sometimes a few choices pop up, but selecting the wrong choice has no consequences and you’ll just be re-directed to the choice menu. The wind chime sound effect indicates which one is the correct choice, but I kind of enjoyed seeing everyone’s nervous reactions while falsely accusing them of something, so I recommend that too since there really are no consequences. By the way, important items are easy to notice because of their red color, like the record in the record player you can see below. Same goes for any text written in red, it might become relevant later (maybe even in part 2).

Introduction to the story Oosaki lives in a boarding house in Suga, a short walk from Hiratsuka station near Kamakura. His boss Shinkiba, who runs the detective agency, informs him about a request he received from a client. The client, a man who calls himself Shizuma Daiba, asks Oosaki to attend the memorial service of actress An Ooe on his behalf. According to Daiba, it was his father who received the invitation, however he fell ill shortly afterwards. Oosaki assumes that the person who invited him is a relative of the actress. Even though Oosaki never met her, he remembers reading news about her death. which shocked him because she was quite young and died by setting herself on fire. Even though it's a rather strange request and Shinkiba warns Oosaki, he still decides to travel to Ooejima. The island belongs to the Izu Island group and is located near Hachijojima. Originally, it was used as a military base during the Second World War, however after this it became uninhabited. Even though he has never been there, Oosaki knows about the island because his grandma who raised him was originally from this island, and he always felt like he'd travel to the island some day.

On his way to the island, he meets one of the other main characters in this game, Ariake, who’s also travelling to Ooejima for the memorial service. He’s surprised to find out Ariake’s grandmother is also from the island. After arriving at the Mikazuki inn, he receives a warm welcome from a trembling man with a knife (??), who later introduces himself as Funeno. He also meets Shimbashi who's staying at the same inn. The other characters are all staying at a different inn, but Oosaki meets them pretty soon too (Takeshiba, Shijoumae, Hinode, Aomi and Shiodome). The final character, Toyosu, appears a bit later and mentions he's in charge of the memorial service because the individual who invited them all (who nobody seems to know) couldn't come after all, which leaves everyone confused.

Since this is mentioned in the promotional material and also happens in the trial version, I think it's not really a spoiler to mention that Funeno is the first character who gets killed shortly after this. They decide to perform a ritual to put his spirit to rest, which involves burning a straw figure, though when they finally burn it they discover someone swapped the straw figure with Funeno's body and they end up burning his body instead... Afterwards, Shiodome reveals that they didn't just receive invitation letters, but they also got a letter describing the crimes one of the other attendees committed. They were all swapped, so everyone has a letter that belongs to someone else and knows about their crimes. The orders is as follows: Funeno > Daiba > ??? > Shimbashi > Takeshiba > Aomi > Toyosu > Hinode > Shijoumae > Ariake > Shiodome > Funeno. I guess now we know why Funeno acted so nervous around Oosaki, as he introduced himself as ''Daiba'' and Funeno got Daiba's letter...

Oosaki didn't receive any of these letters from Daiba though, so after they all return the letters to each other, Shimbashi is the only one who doesn't get his own letter, and let's just say he's not too happy about that. This also means that characters who had each other's letters know about their crimes, which is why some of them seem to be rather uncomfortable around each other. Most of the routes branch off a little bit after the scene where the trial version ends, and then the real murder mystery story starts in which they try to figure out who killed Funeno. Someone also destroyed the phone, so now there's no way to contact anyone anymore. At this point Oosaki's of course also suspicious of his client Daiba, because it's clear he was hiding something from him and sent Oosaki to the island without telling him important information.

Personal thoughts Since it’s a murder mystery game you never know which characters to trust, and because characters do die and will be absent throughout the entire route, it was a really suspenseful experience. I was interested in the story from start to finish, which is why I finished it so fast... I can't explain the feeling of dread every time one of the characters announced that something bad had happened, and you're wondering how bad it could really be. Even though the game doesn't show any super gory CGs (the most they'll show is blood), the descriptions are very detailed, so I think even without that it's easy to understand what happened to them. I also liked how the characters who die and survive are different depending on which route you play, so the game really stays interesting in all three routes.

Even though we know a second part of the game is coming, part 1 doesn't feel incomplete at all and the routes work very well on their own! So if you can read Japanese or want to use translation tools, I highly recommend playing this. It took me over 30 hours to finish the game, including the common route which is about 5 hours long, but I do play pretty fast and am already replaying some scenes, so it might be even longer. Also according to a message that came with the game, part 2's data will be free for everyone who buys part 1, so you don't need to buy them separately. I do want the physical version of the game, but I don't mind spending a bit more because the game's only 4400 yen (unlike most VNs which are about 8000-9000 yen).

My personal favorite character is Shimbashi because of his cat-like characteristics and short temper, I guess he's a bit of a tsundere now I think about it, but I also really like the abnormal way he speaks... he's super polite and extremely rude at the same time and I am curious how this would get translated in the English version. My second favorite is probably Ariake, and because he was the first route I expected his route to be good too, since it's the first experience anyone will have with this game after all. The final route is Aomi, who I was pretty neutral about when they showed him in the promotional material, but I really liked him... I should really not underestimate any character in this game because they will prove me wrong, and so far I really like everyone. I suddenly remember when the game was announced they said all the characters are ''straight'' lol, but as expected, so far it just means they haven't been together with another man before. They do not seem to care about Oosaki's gender at all and don't make it a big deal (I also like how there's multiple lines in this game acknowledging other gender identities btw... it's mentioned out of nowhere but I love to see it). If you didn't know btw, the protag of this game is a top, all of the previous Adelta game protagonists were bottoms.

I've always liked the Adelta game artstyle and character designs, but somehow the art in this game looks even better. Every CG in Ooe just looks so beautiful and I can't stop opening the CG gallery to look at it over and over again. As for the eye color... I also have my theories because in previous games this was an important plot element, and even by just looking at the promotional material, it's clear that those with ties to Ooejima are the only characters who have red eyes, so maybe that will be mentioned in the next part? Also every character has their own ending song, similar to what they did with Uuultra C. The game actually has no opening song/movie, but they might be saving that for part 2. The ending songs are so good though at this point I will not even complain.

The references to existing literature in this game are also comparible to the older Adelta titles, for example the caves on the island kind of remind me of the novel "Kotou no Oni" and the game sometimes references Agatha Christie’s "And Then There Were None" too, with Oosaki even owning a copy of the book, and eventually comparing the people on the island to characters in the book. As I mentioned in my first blog post about this game, some of the characters' first names also reference other novel characters. For example, Shiodome’s name is Michio, which is also an important character in "Kotou no Oni", Daiba’s name is Shizuma, which seems to be referencing a character in "Inugami-ke no Ichizoku" or "The Inugami Family" (this applies to the names of his brother and father too), and Funeno’s first name is Kureichirou, which is the name of one of the main characters in "Dogra Magra". In part 1, we learn the first names of a couple of other characters too for the first time, and I do have some theories what these could be referencing, especially Takeshiba's... I also want to know more about Shiodome because I mean, from the beginning it's clear the way he behaves isn't exactly what one would consider "normal", so I wonder how he would interact with Oosaki... Cool-B did preview one of his 18+ scenes and I have many questions. Then of course there's Daiba... he's so suspicious and the promotional material keeps referring to him as a ''side character'' even though he was literally on the cover of Cool-B magazine combined with Oosaki and Ariake, so I have my doubts about that.

Honestly there's so many things I could write about but at this point I might be theorizing too much and not actually reviewing the game, but I really don't want to spoil, so I think that's it for now! Part 2 is scheduled to be released in winter, though I'm not sure if that means December, January or later. You can buy part 1 here though! Please support them. It was mentioned that they are planning to release an English and Chinese version, though any information about that will have to wait until the release of part 2. When part 2 is released I'll write a review about that too!

#blvnreview #blreview #ooe #adelta #review #visualnovel

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mariacallous · 14 days ago

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Once upon a time—say, several weeks ago—Americans tended to think of dissidents as of another place, perhaps, and another time. They were overseas heroes—names like Alexei Navalny and Jamal Khashoggi, or Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi before them—who spoke up against repressive regimes and paid a steep price for their bravery.

But sometime in the past two months the United States crossed into a new and unfamiliar realm—one in which the consequences of challenging the state seem to increasingly carry real danger. The sitting President, elected on an explicit platform of revenge against his political enemies, entered office by instituting loyalty tests, banning words, purging civil servants, and installing an F.B.I. director who made his name promising to punish his boss’s critics.

Retribution soon followed. For the sin of employing lawyers who have criticized or helped investigate him, President Donald Trump signed orders effectively making it impossible for several law firms to represent clients who do business with the government. For the sin of exercising free speech during campus protests, the Department of Homeland Security began using plainclothes officers to snatch foreign students—legal residents of the United States—off the streets, as the White House threatened major funding cuts to universities where protests had taken place. And for the sin of trying to correct racial and gender disparities, the government is investigating dozens of public and private universities and removing references to Black and Native American combat veterans from public monuments.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, Trump’s aide-de-camp, has taken a chainsaw to the federal workforce, dispatching his deputies to storm agencies and fire workers who tried to stop his team from illegally downloading government data. Musk, who regularly takes to his social-media platform to harass government workers, has also incited an online mob against a blind nonprofit staffer who mildly criticized his work, and called for prison sentences for journalists at “60 Minutes” who questioned his shuttering of a federal agency.

More people who never aspired to be activists but oppose the new order are finding that they must traverse a labyrinth of novel choices, calculations, and personal risks. Ours is a time of lists—of “deep state” figures to be prosecuted, media outlets to be exiled, and gender identities to be outlawed.

Even the list of professions facing harsh consequences for their day-to-day work is growing. A New York doctor incurred heavy fines from a Texas court for providing reproductive health care. (A New York court refused to enforce the fine.) In Arkansas, a librarian was fired for keeping books covering race and L.G.B.T.Q. issues on the shelves. A member of Congress who organized a workshop to inform immigrants in her district of their rights under the United States Constitution was threatened with federal prosecution.

The climate of retribution has caused many to freeze: Wealthy liberal donors have paused their political giving, concerned about reprisal from the President. One Republican senator dropped his objection to Trump’s Pentagon nominee after reportedly receiving “credible death threats.”

Others who are under pressure from Trump have opted for appeasement: Universities have cut previously unthinkable “deals” with the Administration which threaten academic freedom—such as Columbia’s extraordinary promise to install a monitor to oversee a small university department that studies much of the non-Western world. A growing list of law firms has agreed to devote hundreds of millions of dollars in legal services to the President’s personal priorities, in the hope of avoiding punishment. Some in the opposition Party have even whispered concerns that if they protest too much, Trump will trigger martial law.

But fear has not arrested everyone. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in all fifty states on April 5th, to register their discontent with the new government. For weeks, protesters have let out their fury at dealerships for Musk’s Tesla, contributing to a nearly thirty-per-cent drop in the company’s share price since January. Fired National Park employees scaled Yosemite’s El Capitan and draped an upside-down American flag—a symbol of distress—across one of the monolith’s cliff faces. In the well of the U.S. Senate, Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, delivered a historic twenty-five-hour speech in defiance of Trump’s agenda, electrifying a party whose spirit had begun to ebb.

These early actions may feel limited, even anemic, to Americans who recall images of approximately four million Women’s March participants swarming cities across the nation, at the start of Trump’s first term. But data from the Crowd Counting Consortium, a joint project of the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Connecticut which counts the size of political crowds at protests, marches, and other civic actions, indicates that there are many more demonstrations unfolding in the United States than there were at this point during the first Trump Administration. In the period between the 2017 Inauguration and the end of that March, the consortium tallied about two thousand protests. During the same period in 2025, it counted more than six thousand.

But the American approach to dissent will likely have to evolve in this era of rising “competitive authoritarianism,” wherein repressive regimes retain the trappings of democracy—such as elections—but use the power of the state to effectively crush resistance. Competitive authoritarians, such as Viktor Orbán, in Hungary, raise the price of opposition by taking control of the “referees”—the courts, the media, and the military. In the United States, many of the referees are beginning to fall in line.

We analyzed the literature of protest and spoke to a range of people, including foreign dissidents and opposition leaders, movement strategists, domestic activists, and scholars of nonviolent movements. We asked them for their advice, in the nascent weeks of the Trump Administration, for those who want to oppose these dramatic changes but harbor considerable fear for their jobs, their freedom, their way of life, or all three. There are some proven lessons, operational and spiritual, to be learned from those who have challenged repressive regimes—a provisional guide for finding courage in Trump’s age of authoritarian fear.

Americans have seen their government weaponize fear before. President Harry Truman directed a purge of the federal workforce amid Cold War paranoia, eventually ensnaring more than seven thousand workers suspected of holding “subversive” views. In the decades that followed, J. Edgar Hoover’s F.B.I. worked diligently to foster a sense of anxiety among Black civil-rights organizers, taking steps such as posting flyers to lure activists to a fake meeting where agents could take down their license-plate numbers. Muslim American and Arab American communities across the U.S. were intensely surveilled after September 11, 2001, by plainclothes detectives who spied on mosques and gathered names and personal details of students attending Muslim campus-group meetings.

One hears echoes of these earlier chapters in today’s political moment. Some demographics, including immigrants and Americans of color, have long been disproportionately subject to tracking, unwarranted surveillance, and suppression. “Institutions that have mostly felt themselves protected from political retaliation now find themselves feeling some of the vulnerability that marginalized communities have long felt,” Faiza Patel, the senior director of the liberty and national-security program at the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, said.

But the fear now is different in kind. The sweeping scope of Trump’s appetite for institutionalized retaliation has changed the threat landscape for everyone, almost overnight. In a country with a centuries-long culture of free expression, the punishments for those who express even the slightest opposition to the Administration have been a shock to the American system.

There is hope, though. Political-science research reveals that autocratic leaders can be successfully challenged. Erica Chenoweth, a professor at Harvard University, has analyzed more than six hundred mass movements that sought to topple a national government (often in response to its refusal to acknowledge election results) or obtain territorial independence in the past century. Chenoweth found that when at least 3.5 per cent of the population participated in nonviolent opposition, movements were largely successful.

Chenoweth’s data also show that nonviolence is more effective than violence, and that movements do better when they build momentum over time—think a long-lasting general strike or wildcat walkouts, rather than a one-time action. Successful campaigns weaken popular support for an authoritarian leader by encouraging different sectors of society—such as business leaders, religious institutions, unions, or the military—to withdraw their support from a corrupt or unjust regime. One by one, the sectors defect, and, eventually, the leader may weaken and their government may fall.

Take South Africa, for instance, where, in the late nineteen-eighties and early nineties, white business owners who were feeling the pain of domestic and global economic boycotts turned their ire toward the ruling National Party government, pressuring leaders to come to the table with Mandela and end apartheid.

Or Serbia, where, during the demonstrations against Slobodan Milošević at the turn of the twenty-first century, a student movement managed to weaken the willingness of state security forces to use violence against them. Activists brought flowers and cakes to the police and military officers while they were standing guard. At the peak of the protests, when hundreds of thousands of people assembled alongside a general strike in Belgrade, Milošević ordered the police to disperse the protesters, but the police refused.

“All power-holders, even the most ruthless and corrupt, rely on the consent and coöperation of ordinary people,” Maria J. Stephan, who co-authored a book with Chenoweth titled “Why Civil Resistance Works,” said.

The key to challenging authoritarian regimes, Stephan said, is for citizens to decline to participate in immoral and illegal acts. Stephan, who co-leads the Horizons Project, a nonprofit that supports nonviolent movements against authoritarianism, has a phrase for this mind-set: “I think of it as collective stubbornness,” she said.

Danny Timpona stood at the front of a crowded room as a slide show of photos flashed on the projector screen behind him: A white Department of Homeland Security vehicle. A Black Chevy S.U.V. with tinted windows. Then close shots of uniform patches stitched with the insignias of various immigration-enforcement agencies—ICE, Customs and Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations.

It was a brisk night in early March. The audience of seventy-five people—packed closely into white folding chairs at a community center just outside Boston—had come to learn how to spot undercover immigration agents. Timpona, the organizing director for the community-organizing group Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts, initiated a pop quiz. As a new batch of images appeared on the screen, people shouted from their seats: “That one’s ICE!” “That’s a police car!”

A few weeks earlier, Tom Homan, Trump’s cartoonishly tough-talking “border czar,” had pledged in a widely covered speech that he would soon bring “hell” to Boston in the form of immigration raids. Within days of Homan’s remarks, a coalition of Massachusetts immigrant-rights groups had begun training people across the state to approach suspicious vehicles and document their conversations with the agents inside before calling a hotline run by the coalition Luce to share as much information as possible.

Long a fixture of civil-rights and racial-justice campaigns in the United States, communal trainings for nonviolent action aren’t just about tactics; they also carry something of a spiritual message: Yes, you’ve signed up to take on a higher level of risk for the greater good, these group sessions convey. But you’re not doing it by yourself.

Many dissidents we spoke to said that, amid prolonged and cascading political crises, establishing a political home for yourself is a necessary ingredient for nurturing non-coöperation. Think of this as the equivalent of participation in a faith community that meets to worship—a regular practice to guard against loneliness and despair, and check in with others going through a similar experience.

Felix Maradiaga, a Nicaraguan opposition leader, was jailed in 2021, after announcing that he would challenge the dictator Daniel Ortega for the Presidency. Maradiaga had risen to prominence as an outspoken critic of Ortega’s corruption, including his channelling of public funds to his family and close allies through private business ventures and government contracts. Maradiaga, who was released from prison in 2023, says that dissent was most personally taxing when he felt most politically isolated. “I spoke openly against crony capitalism,” he said. “To my surprise, there were very, very few who spoke up.”

Maradiaga credits his ability to advocate against Ortega’s dictatorship in the years before his imprisonment to a community of support that he cultivated—both locally, through family and friends, and globally, through the World Liberty Congress, an alliance of antiauthoritarian activists from regimes, including Iran, Russia, Rwanda, and China. Now living in exile in the United States, Maradiaga serves as the director of the W.L.C.’s academy, which helps train activists fighting authoritarian governments around the world. Among the slate of protest tactics that he teaches, he says, none may be as important as finding your people: “Having a community is a powerful tool of resilience.”

A few weeks after the Boston-area ICE-watch training, community preparation paid off when the network received a tip: men in suspicious vehicles had been spotted in front of a construction site where day laborers were working. Casey (whose name has been changed here), a local elementary-school teacher who had attended the community-center session, received a message with a request for volunteers to the location. By the time Casey arrived, others from the network had already engaged with the agents about their presence in the area and had filmed the interaction on their phones. The agents eventually drove away, but Casey stayed at the site for about two hours, before noticing some of the workers leaving through the back. Casey and a few other volunteers approached them with know-your-rights materials and offered them a ride home. The workers accepted both.

Homan has kept his promise, overseeing the immigration arrests of three hundred and seventy people in Massachusetts over a multiday operation in late March. But no one at the construction site was taken into custody or detained that day.

Taking part in non-coöperation or defiance doesn’t have to mean becoming a martyr or abandoning all personal defenses, particularly in the United States, where we still have plenty of legal and cultural support for freedom of expression. Even so, this moment calls for discretion.

“There’s never going to be zero risk,” Ramzi Kassem, a professor of law at the City University of New York and a co-leader of the nonprofit legal clinic CLEAR, said. “You just have to decide how much risk you are willing to carry to continue to do the work you’re doing.” Worrying about amorphous dangers can be paralyzing. Instead, if you’re considering non-coöperation work, write up a plan for the worst-case scenario—what you’ll do if you get fired or audited, or find yourself in legal trouble. Reach out to a lawyer and an accountant, or others who could help you navigate complicated decisions.

Now is the time to clean up your life—your digital life and even, perhaps, your personal life. Dissidents describe a pattern: autocrats and their cronies use even the most minor personal scandal to undermine the credibility of activists and weaken their movements. “You have to be a nun or a saint,” a prominent Venezuelan political activist, who asked not to be named, told us. “If someone wants to find dirt on you, they will find it, so give them the least dirt possible.”

That includes deleting old social-media posts and using only trusted encrypted-messaging apps. Sadly, cleaning up might mean swearing off dating apps—or at least going the extra mile to verify that potential suitors are who they say they are. The right-wing activist James O’Keefe has been advertising on Facebook and X for people who will use matchmaking platforms to meet with targets and secretly record them. In January, he nabbed a Biden White House staffer, and last month his former organization, Project Veritas, used a similar technique against a U.S. Education Department worker.

Another key strategy, ironically, is compliance—as in compliance with as many laws as possible. Tax laws. Traffic laws. Sandor Lederer, who runs K-Monitor, a corruption-watchdog group in Hungary, recalled being investigated as part of an inquiry into multiple nonprofits by the government of Orbán, a close Trump ally. Lederer said that the organizations were targeted as part of the regime’s strategy to “never talk about the substance of the issues” that his anti-corruption group has raised but, instead, to find something to disable and distract dissidents. “It’s more about keeping us busy rather than shutting us down,” he added.

Lederer said that he resents having to be paranoid, but that now he does everything by the book. If a Ph.D. student wants to interview him for a project, he requires an e-mail from a university address, a letter from the professor, and other due diligence, to prove the request isn’t some kind of entrapment. “This is a bad way to live,’’ he said. “You always have to think who is going to trick you or fool you.”

That leads to the next strategy: compartmentalization—don’t share information with anyone you don’t really trust. Technically, compartmentalization can mean having separate work and personal devices such as phones and computers, so that if one is searched, the other remains untouched. But it’s a mistake to think technology is the only way that information leaks.

Those who defend women seeking abortions in U.S. states where it is illegal warn that when women are betrayed, it’s usually not through digital surveillance but, actually, through someone they know—a friend, relative, nurse, or current or former partner. This is where code words can be helpful, allowing you to talk about sensitive topics where you might be overheard.

But there is a fine line between discretion and self-censorship. The key is to pick your battles—fight about the speech you want to fight about, not the speech that isn’t important to you. “Be cautious, but don’t silence yourself,” David Kaye, a human-rights lawyer, said.

One night in February, shivering residents of Washington, D.C., gathered in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Performers in drag twirled and twerked in acrobatic formations as the swaying crowd shouted the lyrics of Chappell Roan’s dance ballad “Pink Pony Club.”

The scene was equal parts dance party and street protest. One day earlier, Trump had moved to seize control of the Kennedy Center’s board and programming, citing drag shows held there the previous year as his rationale. Trump had vowed on social media, “NO MORE DRAG SHOWS.”

It’s tempting, amid a mounting assault on the constitutional order, to dismiss revelry as a flimsy—even inappropriate—tactic to meet the political moment. In the combat theatre of American democracy, what meaningful advances could come of a few hundred people gyrating and raising hand-lettered signs on a street corner?

According to Keya Chatterjee, one of the organizers of the Kennedy Center event, there are some critical advantages to gatherings like this. Chatterjee believes that through the rising authoritarian tides, places where people can enjoy one another’s company are a beachhead where organizing can begin. “They want us to be so afraid,” she said. “And the only way to counter fear is with joy.”

In January, Chatterjee launched a new organization, FreeDC, with a goal of achieving what the District has never been able to obtain in decades of fighting: self-governance. D.C. has been seeking statehood for generations, but its autonomy has increasing relevance given Trump’s norm-defying efforts to consolidate power over the nation’s courts, Congress, and military and intelligence services. It’s much easier for federal authorities to deploy the military in a federal district than it would be in a state. That means that any civil resistance could be crippled in the nation’s capital. “When you have an authoritarian, it matters very much if you can organize in the capital,” Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee is trying to unite her capital neighbors through drag dance parties, happy hours, bracelet-making bashes, and drum circles. In each of the city’s eight wards, FreeDC organizing committees hold regular events with a stated mission to “prioritize joy.” Each committee aims to enlist as members 3.5 per cent of the ward’s population, or about thirty-one hundred people. Chatterjee knows that figure, generated by Chenoweth’s research, is not a guarantee of success, but it’s a tangible and achievable target.

It’s painstaking work. For the first few weeks, the organization was growing by four hundred people per week. Jeremy Heimans, the co-founder of GetUp!, Australia’s version of MoveOn.org, and a global organizing incubator called Purpose, describes the current moment as the least favorable environment for motivating large groups of progressives that he’s seen in twenty years. “This is probably the low-water mark in terms of both engagement and efficacy of mass movements,” he said.

Heimans points to an increasingly hostile digital landscape as one barrier to effective grassroots campaigns. At the dawn of the digital era, in the two-thousands, e-mail transformed the field of political organizing, enabling groups like MoveOn.org to mobilize huge campaigns against the Iraq War, and allowing upstart candidates like Howard Dean and Barack Obama to raise money directly from people instead of relying on Party infrastructure. But now everyone’s e-mail inboxes are overflowing. The tech oligarchs who control the social-media platforms are less willing to support progressive activism. Globally, autocrats have more tools to surveil and disrupt digital campaigns. And regular people are burned out on actions that have failed to remedy fundamental problems in society.

It’s not clear what comes next. Heimans hopes that new tactics will be developed, such as, perhaps, a new online platform that would help organizing, or the strengthening of a progressive-media ecosystem that will engage new participants. “Something will emerge that kind of revitalizes the space.”

There’s an oft-told story about Andrei Sakharov, the celebrated twentieth-century Soviet activist. Sakharov made his name working as a physicist on the development of the U.S.S.R.’s hydrogen bomb, at the height of the Cold War, but shot to global prominence after Leonid Brezhnev’s regime punished him for speaking publicly about the dangers of those weapons, and also about Soviet repression.

When an American friend was visiting Sakharov and his wife, the activist Yelena Bonner, in Moscow, the friend referred to Sakharov as a dissident. Bonner corrected him: “My husband is a physicist, not a dissident.”

This is a fundamental tension of building a principled dissident culture—it risks wrapping people up in a kind of negative identity, a cloak of what they are not. The Soviet dissidents understood their work as a struggle to uphold the laws and rights that were enshrined in the Soviet constitution, not as a fight against a regime.

“They were fastidious about everything they did being consistent with Soviet law,” Benjamin Nathans, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a book on Soviet dissidents, said. “I call it radical civil obedience.”

An affirmative vision of what the world should be is the inspiration for many of those who, in these tempestuous early months of Trump 2.0, have taken meaningful risks—acts of American dissent.

Consider Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop who used her pulpit before Trump on Inauguration Day to ask the President’s “mercy” for two vulnerable groups for whom he has reserved his most visceral disdain. For her sins, a congressional ally of the President called for the pastor to be “added to the deportation list.”

“You often need a martyr or someone very committed to act first,” Margaret Levi, a professor emerita of political science at Stanford University, said. As the crowd of dissenters grows, she said, it generates a “belief cascade,” which sweeps greater numbers into a greater sense of comfort and security when participating in acts of defiance.

The price for those who stand directly in the way of Trump’s plans may indeed grow steeper in the coming months and years. But these early acts, as much as they are oppositional, also point to a coherent vision of a just and compassionate society.

Even in their darkest hours, in the late nineteen-seventies and early eighties, when the K.G.B. sent many Soviet dissident leaders to forced-labor camps and psychiatric institutions, the activists continued writing their books, making their art, and publishing their newsletters. And, when they gathered, they raised their glasses in the traditional toast: “To the success of our hopeless cause.”

In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down.

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amalgamasreal · 2 months ago

Text

Updated Personal Infosec Post

Been awhile since I've had one of these posts part deus: but I figure with all that's going on in the world it's time to make another one and get some stuff out there for people. A lot of the information I'm going to go over you can find here:

https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/

So if you'd like to just click the link and ignore the rest of the post that's fine, I strongly recommend checking out the Privacy Guides. Browsers: There's a number to go with but for this post going forward I'm going to recommend Firefox. I know that the Privacy Guides lists Brave and Safari as possible options but Brave is Chrome based now and Safari has ties to Apple. Mullvad is also an option but that's for your more experienced users so I'll leave that up to them to work out. Browser Extensions:

uBlock Origin: content blocker that blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting scripts. Notable for being the only ad blocker that still works on Youtube.

Privacy Badger: Content blocker that specifically blocks trackers and fingerprinting scripts. This one will catch things that uBlock doesn't catch but does not work for ads.

Facebook Container: "but I don't have facebook" you might say. Doesn't matter, Meta/Facebook still has trackers out there in EVERYTHING and this containerizes them off away from everything else.

Bitwarden: Password vaulting software, don't trust the password saving features of your browsers, this has multiple layers of security to prevent your passwords from being stolen.

ClearURLs: Allows you to copy and paste URL's without any trackers attached to them.

VPN: Note: VPN software doesn't make you anonymous, no matter what your favorite youtuber tells you, but it does make it harder for your data to be tracked and it makes it less open for whatever public network you're presently connected to.

Mozilla VPN: If you get the annual subscription it's ~$60/year and it comes with an extension that you can install into Firefox.

Mullvad VPN: Is a fast and inexpensive VPN with a serious focus on transparency and security. They have been in operation since 2009. Mullvad is based in Sweden and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for payment methods that allow it.

Email Provider: Note: By now you've probably realized that Gmail, Outlook, and basically all of the major "free" e-mail service providers are scraping your e-mail data to use for ad data. There are more secure services that can get you away from that but if you'd like the same storage levels you have on Gmail/Ol utlook.com you'll need to pay.

Tuta: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, been around a very long time, and offers a free option up to 1gb.

Mailbox.org: Is an email service with a focus on being secure, ad-free, and privately powered by 100% eco-friendly energy. They have been in operation since 2014. Mailbox.org is based in Berlin, Germany. Accounts start with up to 2GB storage, which can be upgraded as needed.

Email Client:

Thunderbird: a free, open-source, cross-platform email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Matrix) client developed by the Thunderbird community, and previously by the Mozilla Foundation.

FairMail (Android Only): minimal, open-source email app which uses open standards (IMAP, SMTP, OpenPGP), has several out of the box privacy features, and minimizes data and battery usage.

Cloud Storage:

Tresorit: Encrypted cloud storage owned by the national postal service of Switzerland. Received MULTIPLE awards for their security stats.

Peergos: decentralized and open-source, allows for you to set up your own cloud storage, but will require a certain level of expertise.

Microsoft Office Replacements:

LibreOffice: free and open-source, updates regularly, and has the majority of the same functions as base level Microsoft Office.

OnlyOffice: cloud-based, free

FreeOffice: Personal licenses are free, probably the closest to a fully office suite replacement.

Chat Clients: Note: As you've heard SMS and even WhatsApp and some other popular chat clients are basically open season right now. These are a couple of options to replace those. Note2: Signal has had some reports of security flaws, the service it was built on was originally built for the US Government, and it is based within the CONUS thus is susceptible to US subpoenas. Take that as you will.

Signal: Provides IM and calling securely and encrypted, has multiple layers of data hardening to prevent intrusion and exfil of data.

Molly (Android OS only): Alternative client to Signal. Routes communications through the TOR Network.

Briar: Encrypted IM client that connects to other clients through the TOR Network, can also chat via wifi or bluetooth.

SimpleX: Truly anonymous account creation, fully encrypted end to end, available for Android and iOS.

Now for the last bit, I know that the majority of people are on Windows or macOS, but if you can get on Linux I would strongly recommend it. pop_OS, Ubuntu, and Mint are super easy distros to use and install. They all have very easy to follow instructions on how to install them on your PC and if you'd like to just test them out all you need is a thumb drive to boot off of to run in demo mode. For more secure distributions for the more advanced users the options are: Whonix, Tails (Live USB only), and Qubes OS.

On a personal note I use Arch Linux, but I WOULD NOT recommend this be anyone's first distro as it requires at least a base level understanding of Linux and liberal use of the Arch Linux Wiki. If you game through Steam their Proton emulator in compatibility mode works wonders, I'm presently playing a major studio game that released in 2024 with no Linux support on it and once I got my drivers installed it's looked great. There are some learning curves to get around, but the benefit of the Linux community is that there's always people out there willing to help. I hope some of this information helps you and look out for yourself, it's starting to look scarier than normal out there.

#infosec #personal information #personal infosec #info sec #firefox #mullvad #vpn #vpn service #linux #linux tails #pop_os #ubuntu #linux mint #long post #whonix #qubes os #arch linux

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